


A New Kind of Handler

by AmazonX



Series: Scarlet Universe [2]
Category: Marvel 616, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Avengers save the world again, BAMF Darcy Lewis, F/M, Gen, Romance, Secret Character reveal, Steve is a sweetie, Wanda is Mama, everyone needs a little help
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-12
Updated: 2018-02-27
Packaged: 2018-03-22 13:20:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 48,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3730429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmazonX/pseuds/AmazonX
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chapter 16, we're winding it all up!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a continuation of the first story. It’s not necessary to read the first story, but it’s a nice story. I never thought I’d have this finished before Avengers 2, but I’m going to try. It’s not finished, but I want some of it posted before A2. That’s what I actually called it for the longest time. I thought of this straight after Avengers, after seeing the film and thinking…well, what happens with that purple-faced guy? 
> 
> First, this Scarlet Witch is based on the 616 Universe/comicverse, but I made her a bit more of a motherly and stronger character. I don’t like psycho-broken Wanda. And also, from what I’ve gathered of her powers, she can actually do everything I’ve made her do, throughout my research. The only power I didn’t give her was to read minds, because that’s something I wouldn’t want to do. Everything else, I would love to be able to do. Think of Wanda at the end of Children's Crusade.
> 
> Second, this is just as Agents of SHIELD starts. This is pre-Cap2, so nothing like that happened. This is pre-Thor2, so none of that happened either. This takes up just after Avengers, just after the last story. So put all those things out of your head, please.
> 
> I would love to hear if you like this story, if I should continue posting in chapters, or just post the whole thing to the end. I don’t do WIPs and post in chapters, because I hate the pressure, and sometimes I change things, but if you want more right away, I’ll post the next bit right away.
> 
> As always, I can't function without Emyrldlady, from beta to figuring out the title, which is hers. If I could give you millions of dollars, I would, but all I can do now is say, THANK YOU!

Steve walked into the conference room and immediately felt out of place. Tony was already there, playing on his holographic phone. Steve had one as well, but rarely used it. It didn’t take him long to learn it; he just didn’t have a great need for all of the other bells and whistles. Mostly, he saw people using their so-called smart phones to communicate via text with people they could just call.

And he didn’t have anyone to call and speak to in this era. Peggy had finally succumbed to the cancer that had slowly been eating her away. He’d reached out to Bucky’s family, and while he’d gone to a family Memorial Day barbecue, which was great for the kids to meet Captain America, Steve really wanted to speak to Bucky’s youngest sister Rebecca, who hadn’t showed up, due to her failing health. She always tried to tag along, and while they didn’t want her around back then, Steve just wanted to speak to her one time. Maybe in the future.

Bruce was sitting beside Tony, but Bruce was reading a paper file using a pencil to make notations. It wasn’t part of the Bifrost project that Jane was working on, because Bruce was just monitoring the gamma radiation readings she sent him regularly. Actually, Bruce was working on his own project, trying to refine the serum that Erskine worked on. But he knew it would be Tony to come up with an alternative to the Vita-Ray his father had invented. Hopefully, there would be a way to augment how the serum worked on Bruce and he would be able to control the Other Guy better than just losing his temper.

Clint and Natasha walked in arguing about something or other until they both turned to Steve. “Hey, Cap, how’s it going?” Clint asked. “You tapped that little waitress yet?”

Both Steve and Natasha turned to him. “Clint, really?” Natasha asked, her smirk part annoyed, part amused. Only Clint would be so clueless.

“I…OK, I know that sounded bad, but…I…sorry.”

“No, Natasha, it’s OK…Clint, no. Beth and I broke up. 

“I’ll take that as a no.” 

Steve threw a pencil at the back of Clint’s head, who batted it away without looking while he poured a cup of coffee and grabbed a donut. Steve was surprised he didn’t take the whole carafe and just sit down.

“And I think I will leave the status of the lady’s virtue a mystery.” Steve 

 

“Good, everyone’s OK, then let’s all have a group hug and end this Hallmark moment and shut up!” Tony shouted across the room, not looking up from the hologram he was manipulating. “The calculations I’m working on are very precise. I’m making history here!”

“Tony, they’re just talking.” Bruce interjected. “Stop being so prickly just because you were pulled from the lab for this.”

“How come Foster’s not here?” Tony asked, still not looking up from his 3D models.

“I’m gonna guess because she’s not an Avenger?” Clint provided.

“Who is not an Avenger?” came the booming voice of Thor. He strode into the conference room wearing some of the casual clothes that had “magically” appeared in his closet. Jane told him it was just Darcy acting on Tony’s say so that Thor could move about New York and the rest of Midgard comfortably.

Steve had avoided the Avengers’ Tower altogether. He had no desire to sit around and read about places, watch television or films or just look at that stupid computer. It was probably really good for a lot of things, but nothing Steve wanted to do. He packed a bag with some essentials, got on his bike and rode. Of course, Tony made sure the bike had been triple checked for soundness, by him exclusively, and refused to let Steve leave the building without a Stark Black Card for anything he needed to buy. And there was NO arguing with Tony Stark when he had his head stuck on something.

But he’d gotten the message somewhere in Arizona that he was needed back in New York. He was met at Phoenix airport by a Stark private jet that transported him and his motorcycle back to New York and he was driven straight to the Tower. He didn’t even stop to eat or change his clothes.

All conversations, internal or otherwise stopped when two women entered the conference room and the door was closed firmly. Darcy Lewis, Jane Foster’s former assistant and now assistant liaison to the Avengers, was carrying a box which looked quite unwieldy. After getting her degree from Culver, Darcy was offered a position with SHIELD to work with the new liaison for the Avengers, in a capacity that would utilize her degree in political science. So far, chasing after Tony and Bruce and Thor, sometimes Clint and Natasha, she wasn’t impressed with her title. Steve moved quickly to help her, grabbing the bottom of the box and lifting it to the table for her.

“Thanks, Cap, I was gonna lose that any second.” She gave him a smile and a wink. Then he noticed the blush that tinted her cheeks gently.

“Its fine, Darcy, glad to help. You’re gonna have to call me Steve, though, even here. Okay?” 

“I can do that,” she said, starting to pull the items from the box.

The other woman stood back and waited until the exchange was complete. “Steve, Natasha, Clint, please take seats. Thor, thank you again for your help with the other situation.” 

Wanda Maximoff, code name Scarlet Witch, stood at the head of the table. She wore a smart red suit, red pumps, and her long, curly auburn hair was pulled back in a French twist. Steve remembered having met her briefly when Coulson informed the team she was going to take over as liaison while he was reassigned to another section of SHIELD for top secret reasons. Steve was not happy, but there wasn’t anything anyone could do on the matter. It was above their pay grade, as the saying went. 

“My lady Scarlet, it is a great pleasure to be in Midgard to attend your meeting. I am happy to be here for you.” 

“Well, I’m going to make everyone’s life a lot easier from here on out.”

Darcy began walking around the table, giving out Stark tablets to everyone but Tony, who was still working. Wanda seemed to be ignoring him as he ignored her. Steve was not pleased. 

“Tony, you think you can listen for a minute?” he asked, as quietly as he could. 

“Steven, don’t worry. I know he’s listening. He thinks he’s insulting me. He’s not. He was actually integral to this project with Darcy and me. I have added all SHIELD forms and paperwork to the Stark tablets. These are secured versions. Tony’s tablet is already as secure as any tablet can get. When we go on missions, or there are meetings, the reports to be submitted will all be done electronically. And all of the paperwork is actually going to be on voice recognition documents. You’ll be prompted to fill in information, and since JARVIS knows what you all sound like, he’s added your speech patterns to the respective tablet. No more writing forms!” 

Clint jumped up from his chair and ran around the table to grab Wanda, kiss her cheek and hug her tight. “Thank you! I hate forms.” 

“I know, Pteech-ka. Now go sit. You’re killing my cred.” 

“What prompted this?” Steve asked. “Agent Coulson was always very clear about how SHIELD handled its reports.” 

“I know, but Phil isn’t running this game now. And I am. And I hate papers. I will not be carrying a dozen files around when I can carry one tablet and call up information quickly and efficiently. And I’m sorry, but truly, I believe that the security and technology levels of these tablets are stronger than that of the people who want to see what the reports say. I trust JARVIS, and by extension, trust Tony.” 

Tony looked up at the mention of his name. “Well, I…thank you,” was all Tony could say. 

“You’re welcome. Now, more importantly, we are all going to live in this tower, as Tony had once suggested, and was so rudely turned down. Sorry, no, my rules now. And yes, I will be living here as well as Darcy.” 

The room was very quiet, except for Tony’s fingers drumming across his phone. They all turned to him. 

“What? Yes, your suites are all done. I mean, decorated and stuff. I can get the movers to bring your things over. Well, half-pint, she can do all that.” 

“Half-pint?” Steve asked. “Who…” 

“He means me, Steve,” Darcy admitted. “I do all the crap work he used to make Pepper and Nat do when they worked for him. Only thing, I don’t have to be nice to him. I don’t work for him. I work for her.” Darcy nodded at Wanda, smiling. 

“Well, Darcy, you do need to be civil to all of the team members.” Wanda smiled at her, winking. 

“Oh, I know. But I have back up if I need it.” Darcy had been sitting next to Thor taking meeting notes, and she patted one of his massive biceps. Thor just smiled. 

“Yes, Lady Darcy is under the protection of Asgard. My mother would not hear of less. She was very impressed by the maiden warrior who felled her son with his own power. In a manner of speaking.” 

Bruce looked up. “You went to Asgard?” He leaned on one fist and looked at Darcy with interest. 

“Yeah, it was pretty cool.” 

“Yes, and my mother bestowed Darcy with the mantle of Shield Maiden, and extended family of the royal house of Asgard.” 

“Yeah, I’m a princess, a sister of Thor. So, suck it, Stark!” 

“Darcy!” Wanda admonished. “What did I say about civil? I...anyway, ladies and gentlemen, I want to have more meetings like this, and it will make it easier if we’re closer together. Also, as a team, we need a little more cohesive bonding. And I think if we need to assemble, it’s just prudent that we’re all here.” 

“I don’t have…much stuff. I don’t even know if my apartment…” Steve started, looking down at the device in front of him. 

“Cap…sorry, Steve, you’re covered,” Darcy explained. She began touching commands on her tablet and a hologram came up in the middle of the table, as the lights dimmed and the shades of the large windows came down. “Through Stark Industries, your apartment was packed and moved into your suite. It’s almost exactly the same, but the windows are different, cuz buildings this high can’t really have windows that open. It messes with the energy efficiency or something like that.” 

“Uh…OK…” Steve didn’t want to seem ignorant, so he let the subject drop. 

“Everyone is in the top 10 floors, and they’re connected by a wide spiral staircase in the middle, so we don’t have to depend on the elevators. The R&D has been moved to sub-basements, so that any mishaps or…controlled detonations…won’t affect the human population. Rats and roaches are on their own.” 

“Darcy…” came the gentle warning from Wanda. “Please, continue.” 

“Since SHIELD has established offices in the Tower, as well, they have an office space for us, but it’s just for Wanda and I, really, and the support staff. Since Tony loves to show off, you guys all have offices on floors that are Stark Industries, so that it’s more secure from SHIELD spying on you. But each of the floors is also equipped with home offices. Also, just below the residential floors but above the SI floors is the gym-slash-pool-slash-sparring arena. So you don’t have to go traipsing all over the building when you want to exercise. Clint, an area is marked off for you for target practice as well.” 

Darcy closed down the 3D projection and the lights rose again. “So, any questions?” Wanda asked. 

“What did Thor need to help you with?” Clint asked. He’d picked up on that when she’d greeted the god earlier. 

“I guess this is the moment we’ve been waiting for.” The air in the room became very still as Wanda walked to the door and slowly opened it. She stepped to the side and revealed a well-dressed man, in a black suit with an emerald shirt and matching tie, and shiny black shoes. His long hair was swept back from his face in its usual fashion. Upon comprehending the visage of Loki, everyone seemed to move at once. 

Clint was the fastest, going over the table top, diving at Loki with hands out reaching for Loki’s throat. Only Steve and Thor moved to stop him, and Steve wasn’t as intent on stopping it quickly, knowing how much Loki had put Clint through, how many hours of therapy the man went through and how many he still had to go through. Clint turned down every offer Wanda made to help him with his thoughts, because while he knew Wanda wouldn’t hurt him, he didn’t want another person in his head. 

Thor held Clint back and separated them men. Wanda and Darcy stood back, waiting for the brew-ha-ha to end. Steve helped the separation and shouted, “OK, let’s calm down. Let’s everyone calm down and figure out what’s going on. Wanda, why is he here?” 

Wanda raised her hands and with one motion moved everyone back to the furthest wall behind them. After a deep breath, she said, “Everyone will retake their seats. Thor please sit with your brother, and I will explain all.” 

After everyone settled, Wanda folded her arms under her breasts and took a deep breath. She looked over at Bruce, watching the green of his eyes settle back to brown. She was ever impressed with how he’d learned to control the transformations.

“Loki was sentenced, much like Thor was, to exile here on Earth. Without his powers. And I was asked, specifically by Frigga to help Loki. He’s going to tell us everything he learned while working with the Chitauri and make sure we’re ready for anything that may happen.” 

“I need no one’s help…” Loki began but Wanda threw her hand out towards him to quiet him. 

“I will have silence. I am the most powerful of all mutants and Avengers. You will all obey me, or I will exact my consequences. Is that clear? All of you?” Wanda shouted. She rarely raised her voice or used her powers in a threatening manner to her team, or anyone, but this time she knew there would be hurt feelings, true pain, so she was prepared. 

“Really? You’re more powerful than the H…than the other guy?” Bruce asked. “I find that a little difficult to believe.” 

“Yeah, Red, I’m pretty sure the Hulk is the most powerful,” Clint said. 

“Except I’m the smartest,” Tony threw in. 

“Well, yes, you would think that. But can any do this?” Wanda approached Mjolnir, Thor’s celestial hammer and she grabbed the handle. She took a few deep breaths, then hoisted the hammer above her head. She held it aloft, to the shocked view of all around her, then she gently placed it back on the conference table. The silence in the room was palpable. 

“Now, can anyone explain how I did that?” she asked, smiling. 

She was not surprised when no one spoke up. Not even Tony. 

“Well, it was actually quite simple. I created a vacuum in the air around the surface of the hammer by surrounding the hammer with an electromagnetic field, sent a hex to change the probability of the hammer not moving, and I moved the field. The vacuum I created took the hammer with it. While it has mystical properties, it also has physical properties that will behave like regular matter. Did you think about that, Tony?” 

Tony was still stunned silent. 

“I didn’t think so. So, while you’re all trying to figure out how that was possible, I’m here to tell you, we will be using Loki’s knowledge of different factions in the universe to ensure the safety of Earth.” 

“And how do you know he’s not gonna just turn around and screw us all?” Clint asked. 

“I have Frigga’s assurances that he is completely without his abilities. And if you can’t believe the Queen of Asgard, who can you believe?” This statement shut down all the brewing arguments. 

The meeting broke after that, with Tony leaving first, Bruce following, both wanting to get away from Loki as quickly as possible. Thor stood before his brother, just to make sure no one took a cheap shot, but even Clint just gave Loki a dirty look and then just left the conference room. 

“Are you sure this is a good idea, Lady Scarlet?” Thor asked. She turned to him, looked at Loki and Darcy, then back at the huge man. 

“I think this is a very good idea, especially since your brother’s knowledge will be invaluable to our planet.” 

“I never agreed to help you,” Loki drawled. “I am here through no choice of my own.” 

“Brother, you are needed for this…” 

“We are not brothers!” Loki snapped. Thor stopped speaking quickly. 

Wanda sighed heavily. “I’ll have Thor show you where you’ll be staying.” 

“I hope it’s something befitting my royal status.” 

Wanda threw a very annoyed look at Thor as she led the two men out of the conference room. Thor walked his brother to the rooms where he would be staying, and Wanda went to the communal kitchen to make a cup of tea. She was fond of the loose tea she purchased in a Chinatown shop, using the antique tea ball she’d brought from Europe when she was a girl. She sat, dunking it in the hot water, letting it hypnotize her into a state of relaxation. Why did she think that Loki would do anything to help them? He’d done so much to Earth, so much death and destruction. Why did Frigga think this was a just punishment?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are addressed, like why are we harboring the bad guy from the last movie?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I'm hoping this chapter helps explain a little of the last one. Emyrldlady is my beta, and I love her. If it weren't for her, you might not have seen this chapter today.

0o0o0

Steve sat at his desk in his suite going through his new tablet to review the paperwork that Wanda and Darcy had revolutionized. He was pretty impressed with the thoroughness of the work. Then, as he tried to find another form that, as team leader, he needed to fill out for every action or meeting, he couldn’t find it. And after the meeting they’d had this afternoon, he would need to make notes as soon as possible. 

After fifteen minutes of frustrated searching and not finding what he wanted, he dropped the tablet on his desk and huffed out in frustration. He looked around his room for a moment, sitting back in his chair, and ran a hand through his hair. 

“Captain Rogers, would you like me to contact technical assistance for you?” came the voice of JARVIS above him. 

“No…yes…wait, who will you call?” Steve asked. He wanted help, but he didn’t want someone who would pity him as just an old man out of time. There were several people in the SHIELD IT department who treated him like an old grandpa. And it wasn’t necessary. 

“Anyone you wish. How can I assist you, Captain?” JARVIS asked. 

“Um…can you contact Miss Darcy Lewis, please? Give her access here.” 

“Of course, Captain.” 

Steve went to his kitchen and pulled a bottle of water from the door. He unscrewed the cap and guzzled it down, not stopping until the bottle was empty. He wasn’t paying attention and when he put the bottle down, Darcy was standing in his kitchen, watching him, mouth slightly open. 

“Oh, sorry…I was…you know, thirsty,” Steve said, hurriedly. 

“Yeah,” Darcy said. She stood there for another minute, not speaking or moving. Steve looked at her a moment. “So, you called for me?”

“Yeah, um…I kinda need your help.” Steve tried to switch his brain over to business mode, so he wouldn’t be so tongue tied. “I was looking through the list of forms and I couldn’t find the team leader contact form. I have to fill out that special form when we do anything group-related and I can’t find the icon. Can you help me?” 

Darcy shook her head, as if rattling things back into place. “It’s the first icon, the shield symbol. I thought that would be a cool thing.”

“Oh, I just thought that was indicating me that it was my tablet. It never occurred to me to touch it.”

Steve nodded, then extended his hand toward his desk, to lead Darcy that way. She sat where his tablet was resting, and she began touching the screen. 

“Here,” she said, about to hold up the tablet and turn to Steve, but he’d come up behind her, and was now leaning down over her. He could smell her perfume, the scent of her shampoo, her soap, her laundry detergent. He was fighting the urge to rub his cheek on her hair when Darcy abruptly moved the chair back and if not for acute reflexes, she would have hit him in a sensitive part. But Steve stepped back and let Darcy stand. She started towards the door, but turned back quickly. 

“So, like, if you do lunch in the cafeteria, I’m there every day by 12:30. It’s nice to get away from the lab and the communal kitchen. I force Jane to take a break by then. If you see me, we can share a table, right? I mean, we’ve worked together, with the tech stuff. So…” 

“I’ll be down around 12:30, so yes, I’ll see you there.” Steve smiled at her and nodded. 

They walked toward the door and Steve watched as Darcy got on the elevator back to her lab. Steve shook his head. It was just that simple. 

0o0o0

Loki prowled his room, even though it was a spacious room. He was not pleased, of course, with his punishment. How dare Odin impose a sentence upon Loki for doing what Loki rightfully should have done! He deserved better! He was the son of a king, even if it wasn’t Odin. Laufey was king of the Frost Giants. He was a prince, no matter how you viewed it. And he would not be denied his recompense of being stripped of his magic and his divinity. He was humiliated and he would not stand for it. 

The knock on the door almost startled him, almost. He sat in an arm chair and composed himself carefully. 

“Enter,” he called, like a man still in charge of his surroundings. 

The door opened, Wanda entered, and firmly closed the door behind her. She stood and waited to be invited to sit with Loki, and he didn’t keep her waiting long, extending a long, elegant hand to a chair opposite his. 

“Do you like your accommodations?” she asked, folding her hands in her lap. 

“This is a prison cell, much like my last.” 

His head was turned away so she couldn’t see his eyes. His eyes were always the key to his soul, his mother said. He was not going to submit to his captors, no matter what they did to him. 

“Well, a bit more private, I’m sure. And I can tell you, the food will be better.” 

“Better than the royal kitchens of Asgard?” he asked, turning to her with a smirk. 

“I doubt the royal kitchens were serving the dungeon. I didn’t come here to discuss your past. I’m here to make sure that you’re clear that I’m honoring a promise to your mother. “ 

“She isn’t my mother! She WAS my caretaker, for a time. Now, she’s just an ornament for the current king of Asgard.” 

He wanted to shock her, give her a warning not to trifle with him. 

“OK, then. You are restricted to the residential floors of the tower. The balconies are open to you, as well as the landing roof, but not the individual residences. We have common areas, for media, meals, and exercise. You will be expected to be on your best behavior.” 

His best behavior, he thought. He was a toddler. And if you spoke with Frigga, he was still that chubby little boy, learning to walk, learning to cast his first illusion, still following after Thor like a lovesick puppy. Never again. 

“You have my word on that, Lady Scarlet.” 

Wanda snorted a laugh of derision. “Your word means nothing. Just remember: I don’t need to be near you to stop you.” 

0o0o0

Wanda sat in her living room and sipped at her glass of wine, thinking about everything that had gone on that day. It was full of events, some good, some not so good, and the fallout was going to determine how they proceeded as a team. And she as their handler. One thing she knew she needed to do was call Phil Coulson and see how he was faring with his new team. And she also needed “adult conversation.”

In the morning, she awoke long before sunrise, trying to settle her mind and meditate on her powers. She needed to recharge overnight, like a battery, and when she awoke, all that new energy surged through her. Sometimes, she felt like her brother, so full of jumpy energy that she couldn’t hold still. But as time progressed, and she worked with different magic users, she learned to control, contain and channel her power, her energy and her intentions. It took years of learning, but she needed it. She knew how badly things could go if she didn’t control her powers. She needed to maintain her calm. Loki was sorely testing that.

When the sun finally brightened the sky, she went to the communal kitchen, she found Clint, Natasha and Steve sitting at the large table, each eating bowls of hot cereal. They were silent, all staring ahead, all lost in their own thoughts.

“So, the three agents need to tell me what they think of my actions.”

Clint stood to leave the room, not looking at Wanda at all, but Steve called out, “Barton! Do not leave. We need to discuss this.”

Natasha looked away. Clint stopped in the doorway. He stood there and waited. 

“Pteech-ka, please come back…”

“Don’t!” Clint shouted at her, turning quickly. “You know what I went through. You know how much…you know. And you bring him here.”

“I didn’t want to warn you, because I didn’t want you to transfer. This team needs you. I know that Natasha and Steve trust you, and you should know that I would give my life for you. I would trust you with mine, as well. But there is a reason he attacked with the army he used, something so easily defeated.”

“Easily?” Steve asked. “Did you see the same battle that we did? Because, that wasn’t as easy as you think.”

“It was easier than it could have been,” Wanda said, turning to go to the coffee maker and pour herself a cup. She sat across the table from the team, who sat close together, one on each side of Clint, like a guard detail. “Don’t you think it was convenient that as soon as the mother ship was blown up by the missile, all of the Chitauri just dropped on the ground? They bled, they were partially biological. But they were somehow turned off? I don’t buy that.”

“Neither do I, if truth be told,” Steve said. “But while science fiction was a favorite reading choice of mine as a kid, I don’t know enough about real science to understand what that means.”

“Well, you do know enough about tactics to have an idea, don’t you?” Wanda asked.

“They were testing us,” Natasha said. “Whomever sent them wanted to see our response. They wanted to gauge our ability to come back from it. They wanted to see what we would do as a species to heal from this attack. Someone is watching us.” 

“And I want to know who,” Wanda added.

“Who is going to go at Loki, then?” Steve asked. “He’s already been hit by Natasha’s charms.”

Natasha smiled and bumped Steve’s shoulder with hers as she ate.

“That will be me. I want to make him comfortable. Then we’ll talk.”

“Comfortable? Really? That’s what you’re doing?” Clint asked, angrily.

“If he trusts me, he’ll speak to me. Did you look back at the videos of when he came through the doorway made by the Tessaract? He looked like he was trying to get his footing, like he was sent almost without a plan. Like he was given an idea, but no real concrete directions on what to do. And you know that he was sent here because this is the only planet in this solar system that supports life.”

“You think that whoever sent him, they’re watching us?” Steve asked.

“Whomever,” Natasha corrected. “Most likely. It would make sense to test us. Every terrorist nowadays does a test run.”

“So, that was just a…what…” Steve asked.

“An audition,” Clint said, sitting down, going back to his food. “He was showing a card, but not the ones he has hidden up his sleeve, or the ones he’s going to change. The guy, or…whatever it is, he wants…not to take over. That’s carrot. He wants destruction. That’s why he used those…cyborgs? This guy wants to blow us up. There’s no discussing it with him. We’re going to have to get him, before he gets us.”

Wanda nodded. “Well, then we need to speak to the man who was closest to this whole situation. And Clint, please know that I will never let him hurt you again. Information or none, I will kill him myself before I let him near you.”

Clint looked like he wanted to believe her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony is sneaky, Darcy is moving and Wanda makes a discovery!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emyrldlady, where would I be without your beta, editing, encouragement, and cute smile! So, more story, hopefully I'll get the bulk of this done before A:AOU is released in the US. But hey, it's OK. If you're liking this, let me know, please. I'm really...iffy about this. Thanks!

In another part of the tower, Tony Stark was planning. This was never good. He was looking across the lab space at Jane Foster, who was trying to do work, but being distracted by Thor who was hanging over her, hugging her. He wanted to take her outside, be in the sunshine and fly through the clouds.

“Oh, I wish, Thor. I really have to get this done. Why don’t you go see your brother? How he’s settling in?” Jane suggested.

There was a distinctive lack of god behind her and she turned around. Thor was turned away. 

“No, Jane, I cannot. He blames me for his life.”

“Thor, you know it’s not your fault. You didn’t…”

“I know this, Jane. I know. But he will still hurl every insult in my face, make rude and angry comments. Do you blame me for not wanting to bear his vitriol? Should I stare down a viper each time I wish to speak with my brother?”

“No, you’re right. I’m sorry…”

“I understand,” Thor said a bit sadly. “I do not wish to interrupt your work. I will be waiting for you in our residence, my lady.” Thor kissed her hand before he strode from the room.

“Wow, that’s rough,” Bruce said to Tony. 

“Yeah, but she’s working. He’ll have her when she’s done. It’s the assistant…”

“Tony, leave Darcy alone. No matchmaking.”

“You ruin all my fun. Look at her sitting there,” Tony said, indicating Darcy sitting by Jane, showing the new interns how to catalog Jane’s scribbles. Jane had whined loudly about not finding the notes she’d written the week before, so one of the interns called Darcy to explain how to handle it.

“I’m looking. And I’m not seeing what you see. I see a very smart, capable young woman who doesn’t need an old man finding her a boyfriend.”

“Old man? You have more gray hair than I do, green bean,” Tony quipped.

“What is going on in that twisted bowl of jello you call a brain?” Bruce concentrated on his laptop, working on calculations.

“Well, you saw how red Spangle-boy got in the meeting when Boobs almost dropped the box?” Tony said, staring at where Darcy was working, waving and smiling when she looked over at him. She just shook her head and went back to directing the interns. 

“Please, Tony, can’t we just get back to this interface for the orbital suit? I want to work on the radiation level of the exoskeleton. I want make it easier for a suit to get to the space station.”

“OK, but I can multi-task, you know? Hey, JARVIS, what floor is Lewis on?” Tony said, quietly into his phone.

“She currently has a small suite on floor 76, sir.” JARVIS sounded bored. Tony felt a pang of regret programing the AI with so much attitude.

“Where is Spangle-pants staying?”

“On the 92nd floor, sir. Would you like to move someone? Or did you want to evict the leader of the Avengers?”

“You’re a riot, there. I may pull your plug. Is there a spare room on 92?” Tony winked at Bruce.

“There is a suite available, sir.”

“Very good…”

“Tony, don’t do something everyone will regret,” Bruce pleaded, but Tony ignored him.

Bruce just smiled and shook his head. His words would go unheeded. Tony was going to do anything he pleased, and everyone, especially Bruce, knew it.

0o0o0

Darcy marveled at how fast it happened. Yes, she had a room in Avengers Tower, and she loved that room. She’d gotten the bed moved in the right direction for feng shui. And she was finally getting her routine down to get herself showered, made up, dressed and out the door every morning in under an hour.

But why did she get a memo to start packing her things in the provided boxes and they would be moved to another floor? She liked her floor. It was a good number, 76. She was moving to 92. Another good number, but…that was private housing. The Avengers personal floors. 

Maybe they were moving her closer to Wanda. Which would be nice, but it would suck, too. How do you get away from work when you live next to your boss? Then again, Wanda was a great boss. Darcy might learn something from working with her and living close to her. Was that Wanda’s floor, even?

As she finished her packing, and set out her clothes for the next day, she sent the email from her phone to the building maintenance office for them to move her things the next day while she worked. She sat on her couch and sighed. It would be the last night she would be sitting there and watching the evening news. But hey, maybe she was getting a bigger place! Oh, wouldn’t that be nice. Dinner parties, friends every…she didn’t have any friends in New York. Well, other than Jane. And Steve. Dinner with Steve…

In the morning, she cleared out of her room for the last time, and made her way down to her section. She sat at her desk, going through emails and setting up meetings for sections to discuss information coming in about different things. Mostly what she coordinated was outside access to the Avengers, people who wanted to talk to them, people who wanted to interview them, and people who wanted them for public appearances. Steve was the only one who would do those, sometimes Thor. Tony was too busy. Bruce didn’t want to chance Hulking out. The assassin twins couldn’t chance being seen since they were spies.

Darcy held her coffee cup in one hand and clicked through emails and messages with the other. She sat back in her chair and slumped low, getting comfortable. It was going to be a long day. And then she’d have to unpack that night. Well, no time like the present to-

“Hey, Darcy, can I ask you something?” came a voice from around her cubicle wall. It wasn’t really a cubicle but a walled off section outside Wanda’s office, where her desk, printer and secure file cabinets were located. A person had to walk around a tall cubicle wall to get to her space, and there stood Steve, her favorite student, holding his tablet and smiling. She was sure he didn’t count on startling her so that she poured her coffee down her blouse.

“Damnit! I swear to God, Steve, I’m going to put a bell on you!” she said, grabbing a handful of napkins from her desk and swiping at the stain. Steve turned his face away, blushing. 

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’ll pay for the laundry…” he said, trailing off.

“No, it’s OK. This is wash and wear. What’s up with you?” she asked, sitting up and smiling up at him.

“Oh…I had questions about…do you want to go change out of that blouse, maybe?” he asked, trying not to look at her.

“No, I can’t. All my clothes are packed cuz I’m moving into my new apartment on 92 today. Building maintenance is handling the boxes and my few personal pieces of furniture. I’ll be moved in when the day is over, and I’ll be going to the new place after work.”

“You’re moving to 92? That’s my floor!” Steve said, with a smile. “I didn’t know they were filling that suite in. You’ll have access to the common rooms by the spiral staircase. That’s great!”

“Common rooms?” Darcy asked, and could feel the blood drain from her face. She wasn’t prepared for breakfast with the Avengers.

“Yeah, the kitchen is big, and the media room, really helpful when I want to catch up on movies. And I like the game room. All the game box things, a pool table, a soccer table thing…whatever that is…”

“Foosball. It’s called foosball. I had one in my basement growing up. I’ll show you. We can play Clint and Tony!” Darcy perked right up and thought about making Tony Stark feel lousy about losing to her.

“Oh, well, I don’t really play those things. I thought you might like to know, though. And there’s always a chef from the gourmet cafeteria to deliver regular meals when we need them. If you want, you can call downstairs and get a special meal brought up.”

“Oh…wait, I don’t have to shop and cook? I…why did this happen?” Darcy asked, more to herself than to Steve. She looked around her office space, where her things were, and it was unlike any other person’s workspace, even considering that Tony Stark wanted very modern and comfortable work areas for his employees. Darcy’s area was made as private as possible, with any luxury or comfort she wanted. Maybe she had a guardian angel in building services.

The door to Wanda’s office opened and she stepped out, wearing a smart, red silk dress. She looked over Steve and Darcy talking and smiled. “Steven, so nice to see you. Darcy, if you want to give a call to building services and ask if your things are moved, you can leave early if they’re done. Oh, Steven can you help Darcy move boxes?”

Steve smiled down at Darcy. “Oh, yeah, sure, I can help. I can bring pizza, too.”

Darcy was thrown for a moment, then she heard a ding on her computer. It was a message telling her that all of her things were moved into her new apartment and the keys were waiting for her inside.

“Seems like my stuff is ready. I guess I’m off for the day.” Darcy smiled at Steve.

0o0o0

As they sat together in Darcy’s new living room eating pizza and drinking Coke from old-time glass bottles, Darcy noticed Steve was relaxed. Usually he was very proper and almost stiff. But as they talked and ate, Darcy saw the Brooklyn boy who loved art, science fiction, fantasy stories and pizza. He put away an entire pie by himself, and after Darcy ate two slices, he finished the second on his own.

“You love your pizza, huh?” she asked.

“This comes from a place on Ninth Avenue that’s related to a pizzeria where Bucky and I went back in the thirties. These are the grandkids. They use the same recipes. It’s all handmade dough, sauce and cheese. You gotta admit, it’s good, right?”

“It’s fantastic. You have to take me to this place.”

“It’s a date,” he said, smiling.

Darcy giggled and said, “OK, then, a date.”

This created an awkward silence, where both Steve and Darcy focused on eating and sipping their sodas. Darcy looked around the room and sighed. “This place is so much bigger than my last room. I wonder why I moved here.”

“Well, it’s a nice quiet floor. And JARVIS is more active up here than down in the other floors, because he watches out for us. Right, buddy?” Steve inquired at the ceiling.

“Of course, Captain Rogers,” lilted the gentle voice of the AI.

“So, how are you coming along getting your pop culture education up to date?” she asked Steve.

“Um…slowed a little, since you changed jobs. But the emails are helpful, thanks. I guess it’s just not as much fun watching movies or TV alone.”

“Well, then we should make regular times to watching things, barring the end of the universe, or terrorist activity. Like, Thursdays, we’ll go to that awesome media room, order in dinner and watch a couple of movies or some TV. How’s that sound?” Darcy asked, tilting her head.

Steve thought about it and nodded, smiling. “I think that’s a great idea. Yes, let’s do it.”

And so started Darcy and Steve’s Thursday night standing appointment at 6PM with food and dessert for the selections. Sometimes they watched new films for Steve, and occasionally, they showed one that he knew, and really liked, especially ones that Darcy hadn’t seen. It wasn’t until the third week, when Clint asked why Darcy was putting a meal on a tray that it became common knowledge.

“You and Cap have movie night? Or TV shows? Wow, how come we didn’t know about this?” he asked, sneaking a fry from her plate.

“You and Natasha were on assignment,” she said. “SHIELD stuff, I wasn’t privy. Look, I only have dinner for Steve and me, but if you wanna grab something…” Darcy left it open. Truth be told, she didn’t want anyone to joining them. It was time for just the two of them. She knew Steve was shy, but they were making headway. She had just started resting her head on Steve’s shoulder by the end of the first film of the night. But after Clint started sitting in, wasn’t long before Natasha joined them, then Thor, who wanted more of a Midgardian education, along with Jane, and then Bruce and Tony and Pepper. The media center, where Darcy had hoped to get her first kiss from Steve, had become a family party.

Wanda didn’t bother going to the film nights. She spent her time reading reports, studying video, and meditating on the situation into which she’d gotten herself. While she couldn’t deny what Frigga had asked of her, she was regretting agreeing to it. There was so much animosity between the team members and Loki, how was she going to get them to work with him? Frigga’s request to Wanda was one mother to another, to save her son’s soul. Was there something, anything, Wanda could do to help him find remorse and atonement?

Later that night, Wanda lay across her couch reviewing the video of Loki’s arrival at the SHIELD research facility, and focused solely on Loki. The camera angles were very sharp, but there was one view where a few moments of video of Loki’s face straight on was recorded when he walked out of the Tesseract beam. What Wanda saw shocked her.

“JARVIS, where is Captain Rogers right now?” she asked.

“In the communal kitchen, Madam. Shall I ask him to remain there for you or to come to your suite?”

“I’ll go to him, JARVIS, thank you.” Wanda pulled on her red satin robe over her matching nightgown and slid her feet into coordinating slippers to make her way up the spiral stairs to the large kitchen. Steve was sitting at the table, reading a book and eating from a large carton of ice cream. He was wearing casual clothes, as well, and seemed very much at home. Wanda liked that he was feeling more comfortable in this time period. When Steve looked up, he had the spoon in his mouth, and he was embarrassed that he was caught snacking.

“Sorry, I know it’s late,” he said.

“You’re a grown adult. You can eat a gallon of mint chocolate chip if you want,” she said as she walked to a silverware drawer to get her own spoon. She sat beside Steve and dipped into the tub, scooping out a generous amount. “MMMmmm, that’s the stuff. I love ice cream, too.”

One thing Wanda appreciated was that Steve was comfortable around her. He could speak with her as he did the other team members. While he was still a little tongue tied around some female agents and staff, he’d grown very comfortable with Darcy Lewis, which she thought was one of the best things that could happen for him.

“So, what has you awake so late?” Steve asked.

“I’ve been trying to speak to Loki, trying to get information from him about what was happening, who persuaded him to try and conquer Earth and what is the larger plan. He won’t budge. He wants nothing to do with speaking to me. He agreed to the terms we set, and now he won’t come through on his end.”

“Do you want me to interrogate him?” Steve asked.

“No, thank you, Steven. If I needed a better interrogator, I would ask Natasha. What I was actually doing was reviewing the video of when Loki first came to Earth through the wormhole made by the Tesseract. Something was off to me about the way he looked.”

Steve cocked his head to the side. “Off? How do you mean?”

“Did you look at the video?” she asked, opening the cover of her tablet.

“I have, once. I was more concerned with the way he used his staff to hypnotize Barton and the other agents.”

“I was concerned about that as well. But the staff is currently locked away in a secure location. It cannot harm anyone again. But I think there was more going on with Loki than we know. I’ve gotten several different feeds of the arrival and escape. And I’ve been looking specifically at Loki’s face, and his movements.”

Wanda tapped the screen to bring up the video. She’d been editing it with JARVIS, getting the best angles of Loki’s features. She stopped the video when Loki had been speaking to Fury.

“Do you know the history between Loki and Thor?” she asked Steve, walking toward the counter top where the tap dispensed just the right temperature of water for brewing tea and she fixed herself a cup.

“No, I didn’t want to have Thor dredge up all those bad feelings about Loki makin’ all that trouble. He’s got a lot of family problems.”

“True, and more than you may think.” Wanda proceeded to explain to Steve the family history of the royal house of Asgard to the three SHIELD agents. Both Natasha and Clint listened silently, but Steve was most interested.

“OK, so he’s not Asgardian. So what?”

“I think he was tortured for a very long time, longer than I initially considered. I believe the only reason he came here was because he was forced to on threat of death. Look at his face, his color, how waxy his skin looks. He’s pale, and shaking almost. Steve, Loki appears human, but he is Jotun, a frost giant, by birth. They may have tortured him with heat. I’ll bet that whomever did this is planning on going through with what he sent Loki to do. To conquer Earth. But for what reason, I have no idea.”

Steve sat and reviewed the video, watching it several times. He was very adept with the tablet, making certain parts larger, freezing the picture and turning it. “He looks the way Bucky did when I found him in the Hydra lab. You’re right, he looks like he was tortured.”

“So, I wanted to speak with him again, but I want to be assured if he plans on speaking with the other Avengers, they won’t kill him. Also, once he’s spoken, we have to give him more freedom. Allow him out of his rooms and out of the tower. Would you agree to that?”

The question hung low and heavy in the air. Steve tipped his head to one side, then the other, as if he was rolling the idea around inside his head. Sheba the cat, whom Wanda brought from her home to live in the tower, jumped up on the table and began lapping at the melting ice cream in the container top. Steve reached out and began scratching her head, and she abandoned her sweet discovery for affection. Even when he was young, Steve loved animals, and they mostly liked him. Sheba was especially nice to Steve, but tended to shy away from the other team members, as they overwhelmed her.

“That’s something I’ll have to discuss with the other team members. I don’t think it’s fair to unleash even a powerless Loki on Manhattan. Staten Island doesn’t even deserve that.”

They both had a giggle about that. Sheba settled into Steve’s lap and began to purr. “What kind of cat is she?” he asked Wanda.

“Russian Blue. Very smart, very sneaky. But she loves you. She recognizes a gentle soul.”

With a deep breath, Steve stood and handed the cat back to Wanda so he could take the spoons to the dishwasher and put the ice cream away. He stood in the doorway and said, “I’m going to run some laps and roll this around in my skull. Can we talk in the morning?”

“Of course. Good night, Steven,” Wanda said and waited until he left the floor. She retired to her own room to lie in bed, but sleep was not easy coming.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wanda tries again with Loki. Steve and Darcy talk. Clint and Wanda shoot pool.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, Emyrldlady is my bestest beta and constant cheerleader. I'm hoping to finish this and get it all posted before May 1, but I don't think that'll happen. But I'm really having fun with this. I have a bunch written, ready for beta, but I still don't have it finished, even though the ending is in my head, very clearly. Glad you're all liking this, and here's the next bit.

The tea arrived before Wanda did. It gave Loki time to set the stage for the meeting, which is what Wanda wanted. She wanted him to be comfortable when she came in to him. As she predicted, when she knocked and he beckoned her inside, he was already sitting with a cup in his hand, saucer perched underneath in the other hand.

“Forgive me for starting without you, my dear. I couldn’t wait a moment longer.” His sing-song voice was actually soothing.

“It’s quite alright. I was tardy. May I pour myself a cup?” she asked, very politely. She didn’t wait for permission and made her own cup of tea. When she sat down, she was looking directly at Loki, almost down her nose the way she did at other people. She never looked at Loki this way when she’d tried to speak with him before. But this was going to be a far different conversation.

“Loki, I want you to know, I’ve reviewed the video of your arrival on this planet.”

“Oh really? I thought all information had been destroyed in the destruction of the base when I first arrived. Sorry about that. Actually, I’m not sorry.”

“Not so, actually. Tony Stark had copies from the HQ upload. It was instantaneous. So, everything from that base, and from any base, is stored here.” Wanda paused a moment, several heart beats.“Who tortured you?” she asked, gently, the way one would speak to a child.

“You are torturing me with this maternal performance. I do not know what you hope to get from it.”

Wanda sighed and took another sip of tea. “When you entered the base through the Tesseract doorway, you looked like a ghost of the man I sit with now. You were even paler than you are now. You looked as if you were ill.”

“I am of the royal family of Asgard! I do not become ‘ill’ as would some common Midgardian. It was an illusion, as always.”

“Why would you create an illusion of weakness?” Wanda inquired, looking deeply into Loki’s eyes. If she wanted, she could try read his mind and find all of his secrets. But that wouldn’t bridge the gap between them, get him to trust her, at least. Loki wouldn’t trust the team, either, except Thor, and only to manipulate the god. 

No answer came from Loki. Wanda just smiled at his feigned calm demeanor.

“You didn’t create that illusion. You would want to create an illusion of strength and command. So again, I ask you, were you tortured?”

“You have no right to question me!” Loki shouted, slamming his cup and saucer on the silver tray sitting on the coffee table. The clang in the room echoed off the walls, reinforcing the emptiness of the room, devoid of personal touches, of feeling, of warmth.

“I have every right,” Wanda answered calmly, placing her cup and saucer gently on the tray and then sitting back, folding her hands together and crossing her legs. “I’m the only person keeping you from either being killed outright, or banished to Svartalfheim. Could you stand it there?”

“Enough! I do not want to speak about this any longer. You will leave my chambers immediately.”

“Of course, your grace. But I will be back. And we will talk.”

Wanda rose and exited the room, closing the door behind her. She listened for the click of the lock. Loki knew, if he wanted to be given freedom of the tower, he would have to be open with them about what he knew of the forces aligning against Earth.

0o0o0

Natasha leaned over the pool table, lining up her shot. She bent low over the table and sent the cue ball into the small cluster balls to the left, sending two solids into the farthest corner pocket. Clint stood back and watched, nodding at Natasha’s acumen with a pool cue, enjoying a leisurely game on the Avengers’ branded pool table in the game room.

She didn’t need to know that he’d set up most of her shots for her, prepared each so she could sink them. Then again, she was the best spy in the business, including him. She probably knew he was letting her win. He was used to it. In the field, he let other people win at pool all the time, because being as good as he was, it would tip people off to his identity.

“Is something on your mind, Clint?” She smiled as she sunk the three-ball.

“No, I’m fine.”

“You’re thinking about him, aren’t you?” Natasha said, accidentally sinking the cue ball.

“Actually, I was thinking about you,” he said, placing the cue ball on the table top and sending it into a pile of striped balls that began to plop into a corner pocket, but two were left on the table. He sank one, but when he went to send the last one in, it stayed on the table, and set up Natasha’s last two balls for an easy sink.

“And what were you thinking?” she asked, sinking both balls in one shot, then setting up for the eight ball. After she cleared the table, she threw the pool cue on the felt, leaned against it and folded her arms. There was some soft blues playing in the background, Clint’s preferred choice of music.

“Nothing in particular. Just that you’re the best spy that I know.”

“What brought that up?” she asked, walking behind the bar in the game room to pull herself and Clint two more pints of beer.

He took the barstool in front of her and took his pint. “Just thinking about the new way the team is going. About what the attack on Earth meant. And that if anyone could find out, it would be you.”

“So you throwing the game was a way to butter me up?" They saluted glasses and drank. “You think I should go at Loki again?” she asked, swallowing her pale ale. 

Clint smiled and nodded. “Yeah, since Wanda’s having no luck. You’re better at this. Hell, this is your forte. You should be going at him every day from an interrogation room.”

“We’ll see what she thinks of that idea. But until then, we still have work to do for SHIELD.”

“Yeah, well, I think our new captain wouldn’t approve of us scrambling to South America to conduct an assassination.”

“It’s not his business, is it? Its SHIELD business and we don’t have to tell him.”

Hawkeye smiled and nodded. “I guess you’re right, Nat.”

He took another sip of his beer and didn’t think about anything else, except the next mission.

0o0o0

“So, the 60s,” Steve said, reviewing the latest chapters of pop culture that Darcy had organized for him on a server folder. He was browsing through the different issues of Life magazine on his tablet, showing different inventions, the evolution of music and social norms. He was amazed the way things seemed to change radically from the 1950s idyllic peaceful home life to the tumultuous 60s after rock and roll took hold. He didn’t know the stuff, other than what he’d been exposed to by the other team mates and Darcy. But he wasn’t sure how much he liked it. He’d have to take it slowly.

“You keep thinking that hard, you’ll break the tablet,” Darcy said, with a laugh in her voice. She’d been working on her laptop at her kitchenette table, going through media postings about the Avengers to see what was acceptable and what would be getting a cease and desist letter. Steve had joined her and they had an early lunch there.

“Oh…I…just thinking about the music. I’m not too sure about this stuff, yet. I mean, the blues stuff is great, I listened to that all the time before the war. And the Motown stuff is great, I like that. Elvis…well, I’m guessing he had great songwriters. But these…Beatles? Who comes up with a name like that?” he asked, smiling.

Darcy just looked at him deadpan. “Honestly? You didn’t read ANYTHING I gave you? John Lennon…”

“Dreamt of the name but spelled differently. I did read it. I just…people say they changed music, but did they really?” Steve’s head just tilted to the side. He finished his sixth peanut butter and jelly sandwich, becoming addicted to them. He’d told Darcy he didn’t have grape jelly in his childhood.

“Oh my Thor, really? OK, they were the first band that solely comprised of their own members, not a put-together band by some record label. They wrote their own songs, or decided what they wanted to remake. When they decided to change their musical sound, it was THEIR decision, not the record label. I mean, after 1966, they stopped touring to support their albums. Sgt. Pepper was one of the most creative and influential albums ever. Not for the music specifically, but for what it represented with the freedom they had to do their own thing and the label just let them. It was the beginning of the youth culture emerging, awareness of the Vietnam War, people not standing for what the government was telling them and thinking for themselves.”

“And this was all because of one band?”

“Well, not really. But they just represented a sort of freedom, a change in the culture of America and Europe, that hadn’t been seen before.”

Steve nodded thoughtfully. “That I can understand. I still prefer Glenn Miller.”

“That’s fine, but the sixties wouldn’t be complete without the Beatles, drugs and the sexual revolution, that’s for sure!”

“Oh, that. Every generation thinks the one before them never had sex. But if they hadn’t, they wouldn’t be around, would they?”

Darcy giggled. “So, you’re telling me everyone you knew had sex?”

And then it appeared in all its pink-earred glory, Steve’s blush. “Well, not everyone. See, the guys always said they scored, and the girls were all mum, and all of them, and I mean, ALL of them, wore white to their coming out.”

“Did you ever…you know…”

“Me? Oh…I don’t think that’s appropriate conversation for a lady.”

“If I were a lady, I’d agree with you. But…Ok, so…” Darcy realized she probably embarrassed the hell out Steve. “But, OK, how about the USO girls, I mean, did any of them…was there ever any girl talk that you overheard?”

Darcy was busy on her tablet, not looking up, and figured Steve would feel more open if he wasn’t being stared at.

“Well, a few girls…I shouldn’t talk about this…”

“Look, those women are probably ancient or dead. And I won’t tell anyone, at least, I won’t name names. And you shouldn’t, but you can tell me what a few of them said, somewhat anonymously.”

Taking a deep breath, Steve smiled and said, “OK. This is for…historical purposes, right?”

“Or hysterical, whichever you choose.” She smirked at him.

“Well, after a few weeks on the road together, they thought of me as one of the girls. I learned how to pluck their eyebrows, I would draw their stocking lines on…”

“You mean, the lines on the backs of their legs to look like stockings?” Darcy asked, eyes lighting up.

“Yeah, they trusted me. And I didn’t do anything to break that trust. I mean, that wouldn’t be right.”

“Always the perfect gentleman.”

“My mam made sure, or she wouldn’t have let me out of the house. Anyway, they talked about all kindsa things, like their eating habits, their body…”

“They talked about their menstrual cycles,” Darcy provided, politely. She couldn’t picture Steve saying the word “period” anyway.

“Right. And a few of the girls…they would do things with their boyfriends. Some girls would do everything but the main thing. Didn’t want to get pregnant.”

“What about condoms? I mean, latex condoms had been available since the 20’s.”

“Oh, boys knew about them, but they weren’t very comfortable, they were kinda stiff, smelled bad. And sex education in my time was non-existent. The priests told us if we touched…ourselves, we’d either go blind or grow hair on our palms. Some girls thought you could get pregnant from swimming with boys in the same pool.”

“Oh wow, that’s bad. I forgot about that. How did you ever learn anything?”

“Well, my mother was a nurse, so I knew from when I was little. I told Bucky. And then, I set the girls straight. I mean, the things people will say to their kids to control them. Some would say they’re trying to protect them from themselves because kids don’t take consequences into account when they do things that can have lifelong affects.”

“True, but with the wider dissemination of information and birth control, teenage pregnancy percentages have been going down.”

“I have read that. I would like to see it go lower, but that’s a worry for another day. You know, those girls…they did everything but the deed.”

“Like oral and anal?” Their conversation had gone to a place Darcy didn’t imagine, but Steve seemed eager to share.

“Yeah, actually. And I got all the offers I could fend off.” The blush was so red, Steve looked like a strawberry with blond leaves.

“And never once did you…ever…”

“No, I was always a gentleman. My mam would probably have haunted me if I didn’t.” Steve felt a pang of guilt keeping his story from Darcy. But she didn’t need to know his past sex life. Not yet, anyway.

The two smiled at each other. But Darcy sighed deeply.

“What’s wrong?” Steve asked.

“I miss having a boyfriend. I mean, one that really got me and was into me. Ian, not so much. Way too uptight and proper.”

“I thought you missed him. I’m sorry.”

With a shake of her head, Darcy shrugged. “I miss those times of sharing a blanket and watching a movie on a cold winter night, sipping hot chocolate. Not like, groping each other, just cuddling.”

“That sounds really nice. I can’t say I’ve ever done it.”

Darcy turned her shocked and amazed look on Steve. “You don’t know what you’re missing. Just the warmth, the strength of another person, and no need to feel like you’re vulnerable, because you trust that other person with your whole self…Oh, it’s the best feeling in the world.”

A moment went by, heavy and filled with innuendo and implication, which thankfully Darcy broke the tension, since Steve was stuck in thought.

“I tell you what, I’ll order in something for us later tonight, something easy to eat, like dim sum. And then we can watch any movie you want, and I’ll turn the heat down so we can curl up on my couch. Even though it’s not Thursday. OK?”

“I’ll bring this massive quilt a fan sent me. It’s done as my shield in the middle, with blue all around it. Very fine intricate work, but…I see enough of the suit when I’m in the field. I don’t need to see my shield when I’m on the couch watching the news. Or baseball.”

“Do you watch anything else?” Darcy asked, tilting her head and leaning on one hand.

Steve’s eyes slid down to Darcy’s mouth, the sparkling peach lip gloss catching his eye. They began to move towards each other, neither even realizing what they were doing until Steve was holding Darcy’s face gently in his big hands, his lips first gently touching hers, then she wound her arms around his neck and pulled him close. The kiss went on longer than he had planned, but that had something to do with Darcy holding him with a death grip.

When they finally parted, they were both smiling and Darcy reached out to wipe the lip gloss from his mouth.

“Wow, that was nice,” Steve said, causing Darcy to snort a giggle. Steve blushed and ran a hand over his mouth as well. “I told you I was terrible at this stuff.”

“You weren’t joking,” she said, giggling more. She leaned over and kissed him again. “OK, then, I’ll just be in charge. How’s that sound?”

“I think we can share those duties. What…um…”

“Next? Well, dim sum and a movie later, I thought. With cuddling under your shield-colored quilt. Right now, I have to finish work.” Darcy’s smile wasn’t quite sweet, and wasn’t quite naughty.

“I…um…I have a request for the movie, actually, if you wouldn’t mind something a little unorthodox,” Steve suggested, leaning back in his chair.

“As if you haven’t learned, unorthodox is my middle name.”

“I thought it was Marie…”

Steve dodged the balled up napkin that went flying at him across the table, laughing.

0o0o0

Tony walked into the common lounge where Wanda sat knitting something that was too small to recognize. But it was most definitely red. He looked at her and probed, “So, quiet night?”

He made himself comfortable on the chair opposite the couch where she sat.

“Yes, it is. Can I do something for you?” she asked, quietly, looking up from her work. But her hands continued without break.

“No, not right now. Whacha makin’?”

“A shawl. I found a lovely pattern. It keeps me busy.”

Tony nodded, looking thoughtful.

“Shouldn’t you be busy with Loki? You know, finding his secrets? Seeing what makes him tick? Poking the soft spots with those knitting needles?” Arms folded, Tony did not look happy at all.

“I can’t find anything out if he refuses to speak when I go to him.”

“Why can’t you just read his mind? I mean, you’re the strongest mutant on the planet, aren’t you? You can do anything you want. You made kids out of nothing and then found them again when their souls were used again. But you can’t do this?”

At the mention of her sons, Wanda stopped knitting and looked directly at Tony, anger overcoming her features.

“I knew you could be a ruthless negotiator and businessman, but I didn’t think you were evil. And bringing up my children is truly evil. How dare you mention something so private?” Wanda never raised her voice, but the air in the room became highly charged, as if Thor was causing a storm in the next room.

“Look, having that guy in my tower is a liability. I can’t afford to keep him here indefinitely. I’m getting questions about him…”

“From whom? Erik has left, back to Tromso, and Clint and I are working very closely so that he doesn’t feel too much anxiety. Anyone else complaining?” The knitting was put aside and Wanda folded her hands in her lap. She tried her hardest not to fist her hands, but her white knuckles gave her away.

There was a pregnant pause, which was surprising for Tony, who did not like quiet. But all things must pass.

“I’m complaining, OK? For some reason,” Tony stated, sarcastically. “I don’t trust him and what if he gets his powers back?” Tony had stood and began pacing. “What makes you think you’re going to be a match for him?” He had stopped right in front of her and stood over her, condescending and brattish.

“I believed the king and queen of Asgard when they assured me they had stripped Loki of his powers. I assured them I would treat him with respect and kindness until such a time as we could figure out who it was that had tortured him and sent him to Earth to conquer it. If you have no faith in me, well, then I think we should bring it up to the team at the next meeting. Then, as a group, we can decide how to handle this situation.”

That was all Tony needed to hear. There was no way he could argue the situation in front of Steve and Thor. Both would back up Wanda; Thor for his brother and Steve for his support of a fellow SHIELD agent, and for the kinship he’d grown with Wanda. Maybe he was just staying on her good side because he was trying to get into her assistant’s pants.

“Look, just…give us an update at the next meeting.” Tony stormed from the room and all but ran to the elevator to get down to his workshop. He would spend the night in there with the music up loud and his suits all around him.

Wanda took that as her cue to take her project back to her room and prepare for bed. She sat at her dressing table, brushing her hair, thinking about what Tony had said, especially about her sons. They were at Professor Xavier’s school in Westchester studying in relative quiet, but also learning to use their respective powers. Her Tommy had super speed, like her brother Pietro, while Billy had magical powers like her, but he was better at controlling them than she was at his age. She was very proud of her children. If they would only they were closer. They were still coming to grips with their origin, their mother and their powers. She wanted to be part of their lives. But teenage boys would be boys.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy and Steve have a good day. Wanda talks to her son. Natasha trains Darcy. And Clint likes boomerangs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, another chapter. I've already seen Avengers: Age of Ultron, but there no spoilers for that in here. This happens before that, before Cap 2 and before Thor 2. I had started this back then. I hope you're enjoying things so far, let me know!

Several days later, Darcy and Steve could not stop laughing. Well, Darcy was laughing when she wasn’t screaming, but Steve laughed so loud, he may have just drowned her out. They stepped out of the exit of the Cyclone at Coney Island and collapsed together against the nearest railing of the boardwalk to laugh more, both holding their stomachs.

“Darcy, you can scream loud!” Steve gushed, trying to catch his breath.

“Me? You sound like a hyena! You laugh like a mental patient!” she shouted back.

Darcy pressed her cheek to Steve’s chest and she could hear his heart beating fast. She looked up at him, smile wide across her mouth, which was where Steve’s gaze lay. The smile dissolved and they were both looking from each other’s eyes to their lips. As their lips came together, their arms circled each other and Steve pulled Darcy tightly to him.

Darcy’s brain went into overdrive, and she began to feel the ball of heat and excitement grip in her belly. She tightened her arms around his neck, hoping to pull him down closer to her. What she got was his arms tighter around her waist and lifted up to meet him. The kiss lasted only moments, and Darcy could feel her lipstick smearing all over both their mouths, and while she knew it would look funny, she didn’t even care it was the $30 special edition gold-case red lipstick that she forwent mochas for a month to save for.

Steve pulled back, smiling and blushing. Darcy smiled as well, and then giggled. “My lipstick looks good on you.”

Steve looked down. “Sorry about that, Darce, I shouldn’ta done that out here. Not right to embarrass my best girl.”

Darcy gave a Steve an exasperated look before grabbing the front of his shirt to bring him back to her mouth in a quick kiss before pushing him away. “You kill me, gramps.”

“You’re gonna kill me,” he complained back, then pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and brushed gently at Darcy’s mouth. She took it from him and wiped roughly at his mouth, then at her own, removing all traces of smeared makeup. They were both smiling and blushing, and Darcy thought there was nothing that could make her blush anymore.

Steve’s hand stayed on Darcy’s waist, just enjoying the feel of her body. Darcy flaunted her curves, and it reminded him of the time when skinny girls weren’t as desirable. Although, there were plenty of skinny flappers in the speakeasies where Steve and Bucky would run messages back and forth for extra pennies.

“Not that I want you to stop, but there’s a reason you’re squeezin’ my love handles?” Darcy asked. “Hopefully that gleam in your eye isn’t going to get us both into trouble.”

“Oh, I was thinking about all the trouble I got into when I was a kid. Bucky and I were really bad.”

“Oh, I need to hear this story! Come on, we’ll get sodas and walk on the boardwalk.”

Darcy took Steve’s hand and led him to the Nathans. 

0o0o0

Wanda closed the book she was reading, putting it on the small table beside her chair. She adjusted the blanket over her legs that were propped up on the matching ottoman. She wasn’t able to sleep, and her attention was scattered from trying to read her book. She looked at her clock and it was only 10:30 PM. Well, then it was too early to sleep. Maybe there was a chance her sons were still awake.

The phone rang a few times and just before the last ring before voicemail picked up, there was a flurry of noise as the call was answered, then laughter, until there was a jovial, “Hey!”

“Billy?” she asked. There was another flurry of sounds, then muffled noise, like someone was covering the mic of the phone and then thumping. “Billy, are you there?” she asked again.

“Um, yeah, hi…uh, Wanda. How…how are you?” He sounded like he was taken by surprise. “Is something wrong?” It sounded like Billy was anxious.

“No, I wanted to see how you were doing. Is everything alright? Is your brother there?” she asked.

“Oh, Tommy’s running around somewhere. We’re fine, just hanging out. I…” There was more muffled sounds brushing against the phone, then, “I have to go, sorry. I’ll talk to you soon!” Then the call was disconnected. Wanda was stunned for a moment. Did her son really just hang up on her?

She sighed deeply. It was the way it had been since she discovered who they were. It was a painful process, realizing the magic that made her pregnant and the magical being that stole her children and hid them as the children of other people. Regular people, without the mutant gene. Billy’s parents were somewhat understanding, maybe not as supportive as Wanda would have been, but they were still very good to Billy. Tommy’s parents were happy to let him go to Xavier’s school upstate. They couldn’t bear to look at him any longer, considering he didn’t even look like them, with his ice blue eyes and shock of white-blond hair. 

Then, when Billy came out of the closet, being both a mutant and gay, it was too much for even HIS liberal parents to handle. The mutant he could hide, but to know that he would never marry in the synagogue, they were also happy to let Billy go to Xavier’s school. It also helped that Billy’s boyfriend lived there as well. The boys were a bit friendly to Wanda, but still distant, still wary because they didn’t want to contemplate that they only had one true parent.

With a heavy sigh, Wanda stood and went to the door of her suite, pulling her robe closed tighter around her. She left the room and walked to the spiral staircase that connected the floors and ascended to the common lounge where the group congregated, chatted, celebrated, watched films and occasionally, drank too much. This was Wanda’s intent.

She sat at the golden oak bar, hands wrapped around her iced glass of vodka. The cold liquid slid down her throat like syrup, freezing her tongue but warming her blood. The bottle sat in a bucket of ice, and was flavored with vanilla and blueberries. It was soothing, calming, and it would probably help her sleep.

The elevator dinged and alerted her that someone was entering the floor. She turned and saw Steve walking off the elevator, smile wide across his face. He walked in and stopped short at the sight of Wanda sitting at the bar, drink in her hand and roses in her cheeks.

“Good evening, Steven. You look happy. How did your day go?” she asked.

“Very nice, thanks. Darcy and I went on what she called a non-date to Coney Island. It was fun. We ate a lot of junk food.”

“Really? Is it everything you remember?” she asked.

“Um, the food tastes a little different, but it’s pretty much the same. People will always be the same. Except this time, I didn’t throw up after the Cyclone.” Steve’s smile was genuine, wide and almost child-like. He went behind the bar and pulled a beer bottle from the refrigerator. He opened it and took a long drink. Wanda looked over her team mate, someone she even considered a friend. Someone who in a different life, a different time line was more to her. But that time line didn’t exist in the here and now, and the best for her team mate was what he was pursuing with Darcy.

“So, what plans do you have for another date?” Wanda asked, as they clinked drinks, toasting each other.

“I was thinking about that. I mean, I’d love to take her dancing or something. I read somewhere that there’s a club that has a forties theme. There’s just one problem.” Steve’s face fell as the memories came flooding back.

“You don’t know how to dance, do you?” Wanda asked. Her face was warm from the drinks, and she was sure her cheeks were rosy, but Steve’s blush seemed to outshine everything in the room.

“No, ma’am, I do not. And…I never got my chance with Peggy…”

“Would you like me to teach you?” she asked. Steve’s head came up, and the look on his face was almost unreadable. Wanda had purposely not developed the ability to read any minds. That was a level of knowledge she never wanted to possess. So she just looked upon Steve and waited for him to react. 

He smiled, he coughed a moment, and then said, “I guess, well, I…can you? I’m kinda…”

“Big?” she said, snorting a laugh.

“I was gonna say clumsy. Wow, big, thanks.”

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking. It’s the vodka.”

“No, actually, being thought of as too big, it’s a different feeling for me.”

“Well, it certainly fits.” Wanda slid from the barstool she was perched upon, and pulled her silk robe tighter around her. “First, relax, Steve.”

“Easy for you to say,” he muttered, then snorted. 

“Oh, I’ve seen you in action fighting Natasha and Clint and Sam at the same time when sparring. It’s the same thing. You pay attention to your partner, and move together, not against each other, in this instance. And actually, being the man, you get to lead. You control the movements.”

“I don’t…”

“Just relax. JARVIS, may I have some appropriate music, please? Glenn Miller, perhaps.”

The opening notes of “A String of Pearls” started and Wanda took Steve’s hands to place one on her back, the other in hers, and started pulling him along. She wound a spell into his head, one to have his body follow hers, at the lowest conscious level, just below the surface so he wasn’t aware but he could sense her movements. She began to push steps to him, to start to lead, to take her about the lounge in time to the music. The tunes changed, but remained soft and slow, something that Steve could count on, Moonlight Serenade. He found the beat of each song, and moved Wanda easily to each new song.

“JARVIS, give us a moment, please?” Wanda asked, needing to sit after dancing four straight songs. She went to the barstool and sat to pour herself another vodka. She waved her hand and a beer came out of the open refrigerator for Steve, and the top popped off just before it reached his hand.

“Thank you…Wanda,” he said tentative, raising his eyebrows. He still wasn’t used to her magic.

She sighed deeply and took a full shot of vodka. Steve sat heavily beside her at the bar and put his bottle down on the thickly lacquered surface. He reached for the ever-present crystal bowl of mixed nuts and offered some to Wanda before taking some himself.

“So, what is weighing your breath, Lady Scarlet?” Steve asked, smiling. Wanda smiled at him, noting the title that Thor had given her. Steve seemed to want to offer open conversation, yet keeping the proper distance until Wanda crossed it.

“I was just happily thinking of your future. How nice it will be to see you with Darcy at our next fete, dancing to the orchestra Tony supplies. I will even weave a little magic for you. Relax, I cannot read minds, but a little sparkle and shine may just be the thing you need at a party.”

“That’s not all you were thinking.”

“No, it isn’t. I called my son, Billy. I wanted to see if he or his brother were available, just to say hello. But they were both busy, as usual. We don’t talk much, really. And I don’t have psychic connection with him, the way I do with my own brother. I can tell where Pietro is, how he’s feeling and when he wants to speak with me.”

“But not the boys.”

“No, Tommy doesn’t even like to speak with me, really. And Billy, who is most like me by wielding magic, he is conflicted. And while they both understand that they were reincarnated with the souls I created for my sons, that I carried, that I birthed and held and loved for a year, that were cruelly taken away by a long gone entity, while they agree they know who they are, they still don’t quite believe it.”

This was a story Wanda was positive she had not told Steve, in either of the timelines, about how she was catatonic for months, and finally it was her brother, and father, who brought her out of her depression. Those were things that she only shared with two team mates, Clint and Phil. But she could see herself speaking to Steve more about this someday.

“They think you’re lying?” Steve asked.

With a sad smile, Wanda shook her head. “No, they know it’s the truth. My brother has spoken to both of them. Tommy can see his resemblance in Pietro. They don’t understand why they look like we do. I don’t think Tommy understands that there isn’t a father, per se.”

“I don’t think I understand it, either.” Steve’s face showed kindness in his confusion.

“Maybe one day I’ll tell you my whole story and then you’ll know. And one day, you’ll fill in for me all the things that American history books left out of your story.”

“It’s considerable. And one day, when maybe Thor brings us some Asgardian mead and I can relax, I will tell you everything.”

“Maybe I’m not the one you should tell,” Wanda suggested. “Maybe there’s another person who should be listening to your story.”

The blond head nodded and Steve smiled fondly. “Yeah, you’re right. I should take her out on a real date, shouldn’t I?” Steve looked down at his hands and Wanda saw him starting to knit his fingers together.

“Steven, she likes you. I work with her every day. She’s not the kind of woman who would laugh at you if you made a small social faux pas. She will probably make a few herself, if she hasn’t already. Just ask her to dinner, or a movie, or both.”

Steve nodded and smiled. “Thank you, Wanda.” He leaned over and pressed a warm, dry kiss to her cheek, and left her there. With a wave of her hand, Wanda removed the glass and bottle to the kitchen and went back to her room. Her eyelids were heavy and she knew this would help her sleep.

0o0o0

In the morning, Wanda awoke very early, and an idea that came to her in the night began to take shape. Her talk with Steve had sparked something. She couldn’t very well expect Loki to just talk to her, tell her everything she wanted to know without opening herself up to him.

Meanwhile, on another floor, Darcy sat at her desk furiously typing the finishing touches on the report she was creating for the Public Relations team to review for release. It was a short piece about how the Avengers would be part time living in New York, and all evil-doers beware. She was so engrossed in her task, she wasn’t aware of the red-haired woman standing at her desk until the gun clattered to her desk, startling her.

“Holy Hannah! What the hell..? Uh, Natasha, how can I help you?” Darcy inquired, trying to compose herself as well as slow her heartbeat.

“No, but I can help you. And soon. You need it. I would like to teach you how to defend yourself. The first way is with a weapon.” Natasha smiled from half her face.

This was a shock. Darcy reached out to take her coffee and have a bracing sip. She took a deep breath and let the words slide over her brain. Soon. Need. Defend. Unconsciously, she looked over at her messenger bag sitting on the chair behind her, where Vito hid. Vito was Darcy’s newest Taser. It was a gift from Tony, something he came up with for her, with extra thick wires, and back up stun gun points in case the darts missed. Although, the darts were constructed not only to penetrate most fabric, but also to penetrate skin deeper, and the barbs intended to stay imbedded.

“That won’t always help you. And it’s illegal in New York. So, today, now. Wanda already approved. Let’s go.”

Darcy stood and began walking around her desk when Natasha stopped and looked down at the gun on the desk. “Bring your weapon.”

Looking down at it, the thing was harmless. But as soon as she picked it up, she knew it was…a potential action. And she knew it was a good thing that it intimidated her a bit. But this was her life. And there was no going back.

At the target range, Natasha fitted Darcy with her own brand-new ear protection and eye wear. But she didn’t hand Darcy the gun. It just sat on the ledge, empty.

“OK, then, what’s first?” Darcy asked, curious about the current inaction.

“First is, you understand what is actually going on. This is a weapon. It was made for no other reason than for killing people. There is no other use for it. If you remember anything I teach you, remember this: do not point a loaded weapon at anyone or anything you don’t intend to destroy. Never. Not in jest or indecision. If you don’t plan to kill anyone, don’t pull your weapon. Now, you may not end up killing someone, but the belief that you will do it, if the opportunity arises, should always be present. Am I clear?”

The neutral expression on Natasha’s face was proof to Darcy the strength of her words. Natasha wasn’t a scary woman, as most people wanted to think, or portray her. She was a caring woman, who believed in her team, and had a soft spot for Darcy, which made Darcy resolved to learn what was being offered to her.

“Yeah, OK, sure. I’ve held a gun before, actually. My step-dad was big on family safety. It’s why I’m not afraid to work with superheroes.”

“I know about that. I’m just making sure you’re not being cocky. Yes, you can shoot a gun. Can you kill an attacker?”

“I…uh…guess if I have to.” Darcy’s heart rate when up as her mind started spinning about what she thought she was capable of.

“I understand how you feel. I’m also going to teach you Krav Maga. And when you understand the techniques of anticipation and incapacitation, you’ll feel much more confident in protecting yourself with and without a weapon.”

“Yeah, my real dad, he was a soldier in Israel for two years, so he learned it. Tried to teach me, too. Didn’t want me playing with guns, but I wasn’t so good at it.” Darcy hung her head, face falling.

“How old were you?” Natasha asked, picking up the gun and checking it over.

“About fourteen, I guess.”

“Hips and legs still growing, arms at full length. Your breasts were still growing as well, but your back hadn’t strengthened enough to handle them. You’re fully grown now. I will work with you. We will not let you fail.”

“We?” Darcy asked.

“Me too!” Clint said, landing beside Darcy in the target practice cubicle, eliciting an unladylike yelp from Darcy and no reaction from Natasha. He’d been scaling the ceiling rafters, listening and waiting for the right time to join the conversation. “Look, we’re going to make sure Wanda, and Cap, don’t have to worry about where you are if something happens to the tower, or New York while you’re out of their sight.”

“Cap?” Darcy said, snorting in question.

“Oh, please,” Clint said. “He’s like three breaths away from asking you to marry him. He doesn’t have your experience. He digs the hell out of you. Go ask him out. But I don’t know how much experience he has with, you know…”

“Sexy times?” Darcy asked.

“OK, that’s enough,” Natasha said. “Let’s start by loading and unloading, making it safe and making it ready t shoot. Then I’ll show you how to hold it and squeeze off a few rounds. It’s a Walther PPK. Light, well-made and reliable. This will become your weapon. When you receive weapons certification from SHIELD, you will carry this with you at all times. Clear?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Darcy winked at Natasha’s stony face.

“You can call me Tasha, like Clint does. I hate Nat.”

“Yeah, you don’t resemble an annoying little bug.” Both women smirked, then turned to Clint who was lining up a shot with his bow and a weirdly shaped arrow. He shot and the arrow flew through the paper target, striking the wall behind it, then it came flying back at the group. With a shriek, Darcy ducked and covered her head. Natasha moved a step to the side, but Clint reached out and caught the arrow right where it had left his bow.

“Boomerang,” he said, smirking.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki finally spills the beans about who is threatening the universe, Wanda's brother stops by and she gets a new power and Darcy gets some new attention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, Emyrldlady is my hero, being bestest beta for me. This chapter took too long, and I'm sorry, all. I won't let it happen again. But this should move things along until I get out the original ideas I had for this installment.

0o0o0

Wanda poured the tea into her glass, added her honey and then offered to pour some for Loki, but didn’t wait for him to agree. He had a very delicate tea cup on a saucer before him, with milk and sugar. She wasn’t sure how Asgardians drank their tea, but she was raised by Russian Romani, and Russians drank their tea in glasses without milk. It was something she and Natasha had bonded over. Wanda stirred her tea and smiled at Loki, just waiting for him to move, or speak. But Loki was just as stubborn as always.

“So, I thought I would do things a little differently. I would like to know about you. About your life and the goals you have.”

There was stony silence for a moment. Then he smiled gently at her.

“My goal is kill each and every person who had anything to do with me being kept here. And this includes you.”

“Well, that’s dramatic. How about I tell you what I want out of life? I would like to have a better relationship with my sons. Did you know I had sons? And I would like us to work together to possibly thwart any future attacks that you may know of. If you need me to, I can open myself up to you, and we can be on equal footing.”

“What would make you think I would want to do this in any way, shape or form?” Loki sneered at her.

“Because I’m sure you want to exit this room. And that can’t happen unless you tell me something. For each bit of usable information I receive, I will give you more freedom. Don’t forget, Heimdall tells your mother and father everything…”

“When will you get it straight?! They are not my parents! I know not who my mother was! And I murdered my father myself! Is that the kind of force you want to unleash on the planet?”

Loki stood, threw the tea cup and saucer at the wall, shattering them, and stalked to the window to pace in front of the view of the southern end of Manhattan. It was time. Loki left it open and Wanda would have to fill the gap. Wanda didn’t even flinch, as the number of tea cups and saucers he’d decorated the walls with had gone into the hundreds over the past months.

“Do you think you’re the only child in this tower who has dead parents? Or this room? Adoption isn’t the worst thing in the world.”

“What?” he asked, turning to face her.

“My brother and I were hidden from our father, who would use us as tools to destroy humans. Our mother gave us to a Romani family, which hid us for a very long time. Until my mutant powers began to develop and Pietro and I were driven into further hiding. We escaped to New York, and with the help of the Russian community in Brooklyn, we survived, learned to use our powers and one day, I met Phil Coulson. The rest is history.”

“Oh, and let me guess, the saying goes ‘and you lived happily ever after.’ You will spare me your tale of woe, true or not.”

“Oh, Loki, it’s very true. In the European culture, when you want to scare children, you threaten to sell them to the gypsies. My mother did just that, only gave us away, and to protect us. Odin’s parenting skills need work, I’ll give you that. It must have been very dark sitting in the shadow of two massive blond heroes. But I understand how you feel, knowing you’re different, knowing you don’t belong. You’re telling me at least Frigga didn’t love you? Never told you she loved you?”

The silence in the room was palpable.

“I studied a very long time to control my gifts, to expand and perfect my magic. And I use it to keep me hidden from my father.”

“And what did he do to you?” Loki asked, turning away from Wanda back to the windows.

“Nothing yet. He wants to use my magic. And I can’t let him use me to kill thousands, maybe millions. I won’t be used as a weapon. It’s why I joined SHIELD when given the opportunity. Also, when Phil Coulson spoke to me, I knew he would help us. Pietro and I.”

“Help you? In what way?” This piqued Loki’s interest.

“I trusted that he, and SHIELD, would protect my brother and me from my father, help us find our way in this country. When Pietro and I left Europe, we came to New York, to Brooklyn where friends of our adoptive parents helped us survive. Until Coulson found us. He taught us English. He helped me find my mentor, Agatha Harkness, to learn how to channel my chaos magic, to develop different forms of magic. I owe him…my life. And my brother’s life. He was the one I went to when my sons were taken from me, in grief and fear. He took me to a cabin in the woods, far away from everyone and everything, so that I could grieve, lash out with magic if I wanted, to heal.”

“You are certainly sure of him.” This statement lacked the heated venom of previous statements.

“As sure as I am that someone tortured you so badly that you would destroy your brother’s preferred realm to make them stop. I won’t let that happen again. I can protect you, the way I was protected.”

“You can’t, not from…”

“From what?” Wanda sat forward. It started. She’d found the chink in his armor, and the crack had begun to widen. This was her chance.

“The power is immense. You can’t protect anyone.”

“Please, Loki. Give me a chance. Give the Avengers a chance to judge that for ourselves. Tell me what happened to you.”

0o0o0

Darcy sat on the floor of the common room, surrounded by boxes, clothing, toys and general knickknacks, all part of the Avengers push of branded material. She’d brain stormed with panel of mixed people from different departments in Stark Industries, as part of a special project Pepper had asked her to head. They came up with toys that all children would like, boys, girls and toys that had no gender connotation. 

Darcy was concerned that there wasn’t enough Natasha representation, as well as Hawkeye, but both had to remind her that they were both spies, they were Special Agents with SHIELD. They couldn’t afford to be outed. They’d lose their effectiveness in the field. So anything with their faces had to be obscured, and cartoonized. Also, Hawkeye had gained a pair of purple-tinted sunglasses in all of his drawing. Natasha’s hair was also always blowing in her face, to obscure her features.

The elevator dinged and Wanda walked into the room, stopping a few feet away to take in the sight. Darcy looked up at her and smiled. Wanda had been elated that she’d make a breakthrough with Loki, gotten past his armor and was making progress, but upon seeing the vast array of accoutrements, she went from elated to confused.

“Do you love it, bosslady? Or what?” Darcy was posing a Barbie-sized Captain America doll next to a Tony Stark doll that was just in a suit. Cap was in his uniform, shield poised to smack Tony upside the head. “I think I’m going to tweet a picture of this for the official Avengers PR Twitter.”

“Did the team approve these items?” she asked, pulling a Thor toothbrush from one box.

“Um…kinda. I mostly approved this stuff myself. Pepper asked me to run with it. Steve said he trusted me. The assassin twins were away, Thor trusts me, Bruce doesn’t care and Tony deserves what he gets.”

Darcy held her phone out and took the picture of her action scene and tweeted it out, the caption reading, “Cap wins again!”

Darcy watched as the tweet went out, and saw it trending and giggled at the retweets. It seemed that the ten million Twitter followers she had as Avengers PR were pleased with what they saw. “Bosslady, they love it! People think Steve walloping Tony is hilarious!”

“Walloping?” Wanda asked.

“Steve’s word.” 

As if on cue, the elevator dinged and Steve stepped off, looking down at his phone, smile across his face.

“Hey, Darce, JARVIS told me you were up here. Did you do this?” Steve asked, walking to where Darcy sat, showing the picture. Then he stopped, taking in the tableau before him. “Oh my…gosh. Darcy, what is all this?” he inquired, picking up a child-sized toy of his shield.

 

“Swag, bro. What’s the prob?” she asked, putting the dolls back in their boxes.

“Are these…going to charity? Wait, I didn’t approve this!” Steve held up a shirt that had stars and his shield with the words, “I Understood That Reference”.

“No, I approved all this. Actually, I have to check each item and send the final approval to the designers. And don’t worry, the profits are going to the Maria Stark Foundation. Tony was emphatic about that.”

“But…I mean…are all these things necessary?” Steve asked.

“Yes, and more! This is just the first shipment. I’ll be approving tons of stuff.”

Thoughtfully, Steve nodded and smiled. “Hey, are we still on for movie night?” he asked, tilting his head. “You wanted to show me Hannibal Lecter films, right?”

“OMG, yes, starting with ‘Manhunter’ from the 80s. So awesomely bad!” Darcy’s look of glee was delightful. “I just gotta take care of this stuff first.”

“Then I’m going to leave you to it. I’m going to the gym. Talk to you ladies later.”

Steve nodded, turned and went back to the elevator. Wanda and Darcy watched as Steve left them, and Wanda came to sit on the couch beside her. “How about I help you sort through these? JARVIS can record us and transcribe our statements to email the designers.”

The ladies worked together for a while, discussing the good or bad qualities of each item and then decided to break for lunch. When their meal was delivered to the common floor kitchen, they settled together to eat.

“Bosslady, I got a question. Why was my floor moved?” Darcy asked.

“How many times must I ask you to call me Wanda? And I’m not sure. Tony just asked if he minded if Pepper shuffled a few people around the tower. And I’m not anyone to argue with Pepper. She’s a brilliant woman, after all. It takes one to run Stark Industries.”

“And run Tony.”

“I don’t know which is worse!” The women giggled. “I’ll tell you one thing I think I’ll ask you to have made. I love Steven’s boots. I would like a pair for myself.”

“It wouldn’t because they’re red, would it?”

“Oh, what would make you think that?” Wanda winked at Darcy. “How are things with you lately? We haven’t spoken for a while. How do you like your new suite?”

“I like it just fine. Closer to Steve, which isn’t so bad. So, why do you think Tony wanted me to move?” Darcy asked. She knew Wanda knew something. All she needed to do was ask the right questions.

“When it comes to Tony, who knows why he does anything?”

“I think he just wanted the space for something. Steve mentioned he may have tried playing match maker, but knowing Tony, he’d move me further from Steve, so he could record the long walk of shame.”

“I don’t think Tony would do that…wait, this is Tony. He’d love every second of it.” Wanda shook her head as she took hers and Darcy’s plates to the bin for the cleaning service to take to the main kitchens. “We should get back to work on those branded items before everyone returns and wants to play with them. Or complains about them. And if Tony gets one of the Iron Man toys and wants to ramp it up?”

“No one wants that!” Darcy said.

0o0o0

Loki sat with Wanda talking, just giving his thoughts about her life, because she sensed he still didn’t trust her enough to spill his secrets. He seemed quite interested in hearing about her struggle with her mutant powers, how she learned to control them and hide them when she came to America from Europe. But when she touched on Phil Coulson’s help in her life, he turned his head and looked down.

“Did I say something wrong?” she asked.

“I know who this man is. He is the one I killed. And the one my mother had the healers bring back from Valhalla. She told me everything. I’m sure he hates me for what I did.”

“Oh, yes, everyone has issues with you. I can’t say that Clint will ever forgive you. Nor Natasha. Nor Tony. You did throw him off his own building. But I believe you can redeem yourself in your brother’s eyes. And is there someone more important to you than him?”

“Would this Phil Coulson forgive me for killing him?” Loki was testing her, seeing if she would lie and promise him something she couldn’t deliver.

“No, he won’t. But he will be civil and discuss saving the planet with you. That’s his job. He will do everything he can to protect you so that you can survive whatever is coming. If you help us. And that’s a big if.”

Wanda put her tea cup down. She was done telling stories. She waited for Loki to start talking, knowing that JARVIS was recording the conversation. He spoke of everything, the Chitauri who were just pawns in the battle, the Other who was the torturer, forcing Loki to obey him and his master, and of the main player in the game of wars and the universe: Thanos.

“He courts Death. She’s ensorcelled him, has him so enchanted with her, and he is willing to kill every living thing in the universe to gift her of every soul. We are all doomed.”

“We? I thought you were a god. You can think of nothing?” was all Wanda could think of to say. The rest of her brain was tied up with the fact that another alien threat was looming over the earth yet again. And she was a serious loss for advice. She’d prided herself at having lived as long as she had and accumulated enough experiences to be able to lead this team. Phil Coulson had assured her he thought she was ready. He’d told her he thought she was capable of anything. And here she was, floored by the information Loki had given her.

“According to my father, I am no longer worthy of that title. I am, as most beings on this planet, merely human.”

Wanda could only nod. With apologies, she left him and went to her own suite, recently moved above Darcy and Steve, on 93, and sat on her easy chair to contemplate her meeting. Thanos was courting Death. He wanted to bring her every living soul in the universe, as a token of love. And this information sent a chill of fear through Wanda, a chill so deep she couldn’t help but send out an unconscious message of need to her brother. She knew Pietro could hear her, across the bond they shared as twins, but she didn’t know his exact position, only his general location. So she could only send him a message of love and fear, hoping it wouldn’t cause too much alarm. She couldn’t have been more wrong.

She could feel him long before he showed up at her door, knocking. A moment after the first knock landed, JARVIS sounded an alarm and she could tell it would be a long night. Wanda opened her door and was not surprised to see her brother standing there, not even winded, having passed all Avengers tower security as well as gone up the stairs to her floor before JARVIS could register the intrusion.

“JARVIS, stand down the alarm, this is my brother. He isn’t a security risk. He’s welcome here.”

“I am a risk?” Pietro said, his Russian accent still on his tongue, even after all the years in America.

“No, Pietro, but JARVIS didn’t know that. You’ve never been to the tower. Come in,” she directed as she stepped back to admit her brother to her suite. Steve came running down the hall from the spiral stairs, shield before him towards Wanda’s apartment, until he skidded to a stop on the carpet and put a finger to his ear. Steve lowered his shield to his side.

“I’m sorry, Wanda,” Steve said to the woman who entered the vestibule. “JARVIS said there was an intrusion on your floor. Then he said it was your brother and not an intrusion, just as I got here.”

“Yes, it’s Pietro. Please, come in and meet him.” Wanda beckoned Steve into her room with a wave of her hand and he followed her, straightening at the sight of her twin.

The man looked nothing like her. While Wanda was of average height for a woman, with curly auburn hair and bright hazel eyes, Pietro was tall, like Steve, with ice blue eyes and a shock of white blond hair that hung in his eyes, straight as a pin. But when looking at them, you could see they shared the same smile.

The visitor held his hand out to Steve, who took it and shook it gently, but solidly. “A pleasure to meet you, Pietro. Your sister speaks of you often.”

“All well, I hope,” he said, smiling.

“Yeah, she says you’re a good guy. Tony’s probably back on his way down to his workshop and we may not see him again today. So, I’ll offer, stay here as long as you like. And JARVIS, security protocol admittance, give Mr. Maximoff the same freedom and security clearance as Wanda for the residential floors. As far as the business stuff…”

“I shall alert Ms. Potts to the new visitor and have her assess the situation, Captain,” JARVIS assured the group.

“Thank you.”

“Keptin? You are THE keptin then?” Pietro asked, letting his accent weigh a little heavier on his tongue.

“Ah, yes, but you can just call me Steve. I’ll leave you both to your visit.”

Steve turned, walking back to the elevator that JARVIS held for him. He looked down at the carpet as the doors closed, but Wanda watched his face. His embarrassment still hung in the air and Wanda just closed the door on it. She needed to speak to her brother.

Pietro stood in the middle of the room, and for Wanda, it was as if time had stood still. He was still her brother, twelve minutes older than she, if she had predicted correctly. From her earliest memory of camping in the Russian forests to the last time they shared an apartment in Brooklyn, he was the same boy, standing with his back straight and his head up. The freezer in the kitchen produced a bottle of blueberry and vanilla-infused vodka and two glasses followed from a cabinet to Wanda’s outstretched hands and she set them out on her coffee table, pouring two measures into the glasses. One was handed to Pietro and she held hers towards him.

“Zazda-ró-vye!” Pietro said, and Wanda repeated it back, to your health. They drank, then chose their seats, Wanda on her chair and Pietro on the couch in front of the bottle. He poured her another small measure of vodka, then heavily poured for himself.

“So, my dearest sister, you are quite upset or you would not have reached out for me. What has you so agitated?” he asked. He spoke to her in English because he knew she preferred it that way, since she had shed her accent many years before.

“Oh, Pietro, where do I start? We are doomed. We have to…I…”

“Sister, drink.” Pietro held his hand up and waited for Wanda to drink down her second shot of vodka and sit back. Then she began the painstakingly long tale of how after the battle of New York, when she and Pietro were protecting other assets for SHIELD, she’d gone to Asgard to speak with the queen about Loki, his punishment and how to rehabilitate him. Pietro listened, sipping at his own vodka, nodding and not interrupting. He waited until Wanda had finished her winding tale and sat back, wiping the tears from her cheeks. He listened as she described Loki revealing his information of what was coming to Earth next.

“We are in serious danger, Wanda,” he said, shaking his head. “Have you shared this with your team?”

“Not yet. I just finished my conversation with Loki. I’m wondering if I should schedule a meeting…”

“Wanda, call them now. You must tell them immediately. I can go with you, be a part of the meeting. The school can let me stay for this.”

“Oh, I would love that, but the boys…”

It occurred to Wanda that if her brother was in New York City, her sons would be unprotected at their school upstate.

“I know what you’re thinking, sister. No, there are many people there to protect the boys, and the other students at the school. I would like to stay here, help you. The boys will be fine.”

“You’re right, you should stay. I can use all the help I can get, considering Phil Coulson and his new team are busy handling something I can’t discuss. You’re no longer SHIELD.”

“I don’t care what they’re doing. Just…we should tell the team now.”

“If I may, Miss Maximoff,” came the interrupting voice of JARVIS from above. “I believe with the exception of Agents Romanov and Barton, all Avengers members are present in the tower. I can reach the agents via mobile phone and conference them into the meeting.”

“Yes, JARVIS, please. But not the conference room. Have them meet me in the common kitchen. I think this calls for something less formal and more…comfortable.”

“You weren’t kidding in your letters. That voice is jarring,” Pietro said, standing to accompany his sister out of the suite.

With a wave of her hands, Wanda changed her outfit from her formal red and beige Chanel suit to more comfortable jeans and a red blouse. Pietro was as comfortable as always in a green Adidas running suit. She led him to the kitchen, where he gave proper reverence to the extravagant and lavish kitchen. Then he went about making a cup of coffee and helping himself to a muffin. The team members came quickly, even Tony who was being shoved by Steve, and on hidden speakers, JARVIS connected Clint and Natasha via speaker phone at their classified assignment.

“Well, first, this is my brother, Pietro. He’s been teaching at the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters up in Westchester these last few months. And he’s here because I have to tell you something difficult, and I think we’ll need all the help we can get.”

There were nods around the room to Pietro, but Natasha and Clint already knew him. “Hey, man, how’s it going?” asked Clint.

“Good, we need to catch up, have a beer.”

“Hold you to it.”

“I guess this has to do with your conversations with Loki,” Steve asked, getting the group on track.

“Yes, it does. He’s told me something truly disturbing about who tortured him, who sent him with the Chitauri to conquer Earth and what he plans to do next.” Wanda went about explaining exactly Loki told her about Thanos, his plans to conquer the universe and how he planned to take Earth. She admitted there wasn’t a timeline of any type, but it was going to happen, and they needed to begin to plan a defense.

With this reveal, Thor cleared his throat. “I did not know my brother had been tortured. I had thought…he did this to rebel against our father, and me. I…must visit him.”

“Wait, Thor, please don’t leave yet,” Wanda requested, reaching out to gently take his hand. 

“I’m not entirely sure what to do right now,” Thor murmured, which was a very different situation for the prince of Asgard, who was usually the first to suggest action.

“We need intel,” Steve said, quickly. “I would like to call in Coulson and his other team, if that’s OK with you, Wanda. And Fury and Hill will need to start the satellite searches for anything coming towards us.”

“Jane…” came the quiet word from Darcy, who was sitting at the back of the group, not near Steve.

“What?” replied Bruce, who took his glasses off and turned to her.

“Jane and Erik, this is the only thing they do, search for anomalies. I still talk with Jane regularly, visit her lab, and she’s got nothing, empty skies. She would know what’s going on.”

“She’ll be key in finding this threat, tracking it and keeping tabs on it,” Bruce agreed.

“You want your old job back, little bit?” Tony asked, smirking. “I know, you’ll have to be subservient to me, but hey, we can make history…”

“I need Darcy, Tony,” Wanda said, quietly. Pietro was standing beside his sister, arm around her shoulders and their heads were pressed together. The way they looked to any outsider, they could be a couple. But their bond transcended mere physicality. And whenever anyone brought it up, Wanda was sickened to her stomach and had to stop herself from turning the person into a turnip.

“Who is Darcy?” Pietro asked, standing up and turning to look behind him. From the corner of his eye, Pietro could see that Steve was starting to frown. Pietro looked Darcy over, then used his mutant speed to go to the kitchen and get a bottle of water for Darcy before taking a knee beside her chair and holding the bottle for her. Everyone around them was blinking in confusion, but Wanda stood back, same thoughtful look on her face, still contemplating her next move in the search for Thanos.

“Thank you, uh, Pietro,” Darcy said, taking the bottle of water from him and smiling. “How did you know I was thirsty?” she asked, taking a sip.

“Your hands, your fingertips are wrinkled.” Pietro took her free hand and held it up, gently splaying her fingers out. “The air in here has more moisture than in your body. It happens at the school, when one child comes to class, who is made of almost pure water.”

“You sure don’t look like a teacher. What’s your subject? Art?” she said, smiling, looking at his spiked white-blond.

“Track. Do you know about the school?” he asked.

“We’re finished here,” Wanda surmised. 

Steve nodded and cleared his throat. “Bruce, Tony, would you please work with Jane and Erik as much has you can? I’ll coordinate with Fury and Hill with regard to satellite coverage into deep space. Wanda are you going to speak again with Loki? Let’s check back together in 12 hours in the conference room downstairs. Natasha and Clint, if you’re available, text JARVIS and he can connect you in. Unless you return.”

“And I will be bringing Loki, so while I’m not asking anyone to be cordial or kind, I am asking everyone to keep their hostilities in check.” Wanda looked around at everyone, a pleading look on her face.

There was silence for a moment, until Darcy spoke up. “Did you need me to do something specific, boss?” she asked, as the rest of the group were leaving the kitchen, after gathering snacks and going to their tasks.

“Yes,” Wanda agreed, turning a weary smile to Darcy. “Would you show my brother around the common areas, the gym and library as well? He’s staying in my guest room, so please show him the way back. Thank you.”

Without warning, lightning struck outside, causing everyone to turn to Thor, who raised his hands in innocence. Then, as if on cue, Wanda disappeared. A thundering voice sounded as if it came from everywhere said, “Fear not, the Lady Scarlet is in Asgard.”

“Heimdall,” said Darcy, putting a hand on Pietro’s arm to calm him. He’d begun spinning in place, a blur to look at, to see where his sister had gone, until the voice sounded. “He took her for the royal family. She’ll be OK, and they’ll bring her back.”

“I…are you sure?” Pietro asked, turning to Thor.

“I promise with my life, no harm will ever come to your sister in my home.”

A hand on Pietro’s cheek turned his head. “She’s fine,” Darcy assured. “I’ve been to Asgard before. So has Wanda. They would never hurt a human, in respect to Thor. This is his chosen second home.”

0o0o0

Wanda was a bit shocked to be transported to the gateway of Yggdrasil. She turned to face Heimdall and raised her hands in defense, calling hex power to confound any attack on her. When she recognized the kind golden eyes in the stony brown face of the gate keeper of Asgard, she let down her guard and dissipated her power.

“The Queen wishes to speak with you, Lady Scarlet,” he announced.

“Of course, but please Heimdall, a little warning next time.” All she received in return was a slight nod. The Warriors Three and Lady Sif galloped into the gate room on majestic Asgardian horses, reining them in to stop before her. Of course, Fandral’s mount, the prettiest of all the horses, bowed down before her. Wanda let out a gentle laugh.

“Are you my royal escorts to the palace?” she asked, bowing back to the Warriors and Lady.

“The Queen sent us to ensure you’d traveled safely.” Lady Sif nodded to Heimdall, to assure him it wasn’t because he couldn’t transmit her safely.

“Then shall we?” Wanda asked, enveloping herself in a ball of pink energy to change her clothing from simple to royal. The flowing red gown was covered in crystals and while it had a long flowing cape behind her, it was strapless with a deep plunging neckline. She’d have to remember this number for another time.

While the Warriors Three and the Lady Sif rode their steeds back to the palace, Wanda chose to take to the wind, flying above them through the cool air of the alien city. The satin layers of her gown and cape billowed about her, giving an even more ethereal feeling to the visit. When her escort stopped to dismount, Wanda continued on into the palace, moving by memory to where she knew the Queen would be waiting in a private salon away from the throne room. Alighting before the door, Wanda took a deep breath before knocking on the great golden doors before her.

“Enter,” came the gentle lilt of the Queen’s beckon.

The doors opened of their own accord and presented Wanda with a scene she’s witnessed once before. Frigga sat pouring wine into golden goblets while a servant set out plates of food. Wanda stepped into the room and stopped just short of Queen’s raised chaise. She bowed low before the Queen, sweeping her arm down before her.

“Rise, Lady Scarlet. Please, join me in a bit of wine and food.” Frigga held out her hand, which Wanda took and kissed the large ring on the Queen’s hand. The stone was from Asgard, and always felt warm against Wanda’s lips.

“I am at your service, Your Majesty. How may I help you?” Wanda sat in the indicated chair beside Frigga.

“I would like to thank you for getting my son to open up to you. I tried so many times to speak with him. His anger and resentment battered me back each time. But you reached him, with your own tale of woe.”

“Not so woe, my Queen. I loved my parents. Django and Marya were better than anyone I could have imagined. Had my father not stolen food for his loving daughter, me, who so brattily complained that she wanted a special load of bread, the villagers would not have attacked our camp and my parents would not have been killed. But life has gotten better since my meager beginnings. And I told this to Loki. He needed to be thankful that the king and queen of Asgard raised him. He was destined to die. Having been adopted is not the worst fate in the world.”

“And in return, with my thanks, I would like to give you a gift.” Frigga reached out and put her first two fingers on each side of Wanda’s head, on her temples, and Wanda could feel the energy surging. It flowed into her and exploded through her mind, making every synapse and cell jump. When Frigga sat back, she smiled at Wanda. “Now, you may look into the minds of others. This is an ability you had, but had not developed, nor even knew you had. You can read thoughts, when you focus, you can project thoughts, and can change opinions. You will need this in the coming weeks and months, if you are to succeed against the foe that my son has mentioned.”

“Your majesty, I am honored with your gift, but I cannot accept. I do not want…”

“Lady Scarlet, I know what you will say,” interrupted the queen. “But I must tell you. While I cannot truly view the future, as some would believe, I do know that this is a skill you will need for the future. Please accept this gift.”

The warmth began at the back of Wanda’s head and she could feel the buzzing of power in every cell and synapse of her mind. The thoughts of the guard outside the room drifted into her head, thoughts of wives, lovers, children and making sure the Queen was protected. Then Wanda closed a door in her mind, and the thoughts were gone, like turning off the radio.

“Your Grace, I will use this gift to protect your sons and my planet. I thank you, humbly.” Once again, Wanda knelt before the Queen and kissed her hand before the feeling of being pulled away grabbed her and she was whisked away by the bifrost, back to the Avengers tower, in the kitchen from where she was taken.

0o0o0


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Darcy finally...well...you know...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Emyrldlady again for beta. I'm so sorry this took so long, but it's just like pulling teeth this bit. I hope you like it. Let me know how you feel, kudos are smiles, comments are cookies. And me love cookies!

Darcy opened the door to the gym and held her arm out, leading Pietro into the large space. “This is our Avengers’ gym, where all the team members work out, spar and sometimes work off nervous energy, like the Captain is doing right now.” Darcy smiles up at Pietro, who was watching Steve pound on a heavy bag Tony designed for him, using a titanium alloy for the chains and a polymer fabric for the covering, guaranteed not to tear.

The pounding didn’t stop, but got faster and louder, as is Steve was pushing his limits as far as they could go. A smile crossed Pietro’s face, remembering the emails his sister sent, telling him how she was trying to help these two become a couple without being too obtrusive. He thought maybe he could help with a push.

“Dearest Darcy, I would love to see that sparring ring. Join me?” Pietro asked, walking to the large ring where sparring, boxing and even impromptu wrestling matches were held. Pietro climbed up first, then held out a hand to help Darcy, and held open the ropes for her to climb through. The thumps on the heavy bag were slower, and in the mirrors placed around the room at strategic places so one had a 360-degree view of the gym, Pietro made eye contact with Steve. Pietro only smirked back.

“Do you ever fight in this ring, Darcy?” he asked. He walked around her where she stood in the center, wearing jeans, an oversized sweater and her favorite Converse sneakers, the purple ones with a bleach splatter. As Pietro sped up his circular prowl around Darcy, she tried to keep up and proceeded in making her dizzy and tilted her sideways. Pietro reached out to pull her into his arms, dipping her deeply, but holding tightly. This caused a fit of giggles in Darcy.

Steve, however, was not as impressed with Pietro’s theatrics. He stomped into the ring and said, “Excuse me, Pietro, I’ll thank you not to make Darcy sick. You don’t have to sit with her all night while she fights to keep her dinner down.”

“Steve!” Darcy exclaimed, as she was pulled from Pietro’s arms and flung behind Steve.

“And who’s to say I won’t be just as soothing, or even moreso than you are?” Pietro asked, smirking at Steve.

“How soothing can you be making her puke in the first place, pal?” Steve asked, stepping right into Pietro’s personal space, face to face. A hint of Steve’s Brooklyn accent crept in, which indicated to Darcy that he was starting to lose his cool, which he tried to never to do.

“Ok, stop!” Darcy shouted, holding her arms out to her sides and stepping between the two men to separate them. “Pietro, maybe you should go find your sister, see if she’s back from Asgard. OK?”

Pietro looked over Steve, seeing the anger start to dissipate like waves of heat radiating from the man and realized it was far better to step away than to antagonize the situation any further. He bowed deeply before Darcy, nodded to Steve and then in a blink and a breeze was gone from the gym.

Steve turned to Darcy, gently taking her arms in his hands and asking, “Are you OK? You feel sick at all?”

“No, I’m good,” Darcy said, pulling back. She smiled weakly at Steve and shrugged.

“You look a little green. Considering you have a pink sweater on, I can see it real clear. Let me take you up to your room, OK?” Steve tried to smile gently, but it was only in half of his mouth. Darcy loved his half smiles. It was the only thing that ever truly worked on her.

“Sure, we can go.” She nodded, almost resignedly.

They walked out of the gym and waited for the elevator. Then Steve smiled widely and turned to her.

“I got an idea. I’ll take you to your room. We can figure out what to order for dinner tonight, and I’ll go shower and finish up a report I need to clear up. Then we can watch a movie together, and get this Thanos stuff off my mind a little. Natasha told me sometimes it’s better to clear your head of something you can’t figure out, and then the answer can form in the space you made. Or…something like that.”

The ding of the elevator almost jarred Steve from his concentration of Darcy’s face.

“Yeah, OK, sure. Dinner and a movie sounds really good, actually.” Darcy softened her smile up at Steve as they went up to her room.

0o0o0

The look on Natalie Wood’s face as the car drove her away from Warren Beaty’s farm in “Splendor in the Grass” seemed to touch Steve deeply. He fought the tear that wanted to form in his eye, seeing the past how it was when he was young, remembering the crash on Wall Street when he was child, and how it profoundly affected everyone’s life.

“What a crock of shit!” Darcy shouted as the credits rolled.

Steve cleared his throat and sat up, pulling back as Darcy got up and took the dinner plates to the kitchen. Steve followed with the glasses, trailing behind Darcy.

“What’s got you so upset? Is it about the film?” he asked, opening the dishwasher so they could load it together with the day’s dishes.

“Well, I mean, that whole thing about how she should suppress her desires, how she wants to give in to passion with Bud, but she shouldn’t because women shouldn’t like sex. And the smart woman who likes sex, the sister, well, she’s just a slut. And the mother, oh my Thor! Just lay there and take it? I mean, really, was this how people thought in the 20’s?”

A wide smile spread across Steve’s face. Always with the history questions, Darcy never ceased to make him laugh. “Well, the day of the crash, I was only 11. So I don’t know what teens were doing in the plains about sex, since I was in Brooklyn at the time. But there were plenty of people having sex when I was older.”

“Bucky?” she probed, smiling. “He put a sock on the doorknob?”

“That’s kinda not how they did it. I mean, usually, it was in cars. No nice girl went to a man’s house to sleep over. And men were never allowed to stay over in a girl’s place, because her roommates would gossip about her.” Steve face was going red, so Darcy could tell he was telling the truth. He only blushed when he was being honest about things he didn’t want to discuss. Darcy felt a warm tingle in her belly knowing Steve was making himself uncomfortable just to give her the real low down on what life was like.

“OK, so they gossiped, big deal.” Darcy folded her arms over her chest and waited, challenge issued.

“Back then, all a girl had was her reputation as like…a dowry. And any girl that would sleep over a man’s house, she wasn’t the kind you wanted to marry. Bucky’s mom would have beaten him with a wooden spoon if she knew he went out with a girl like that. And any girl that had a bad reputation couldn’t marry a nice man…”

“So she didn’t get married…”

“Darcy stop!” Steve held his hand up. His flash of temper was quick and sudden. “I know how you feel. I didn’t think it was fair, either. But dames didn’t have the kind of choices you have now. You can live your life on your terms. Back then, gals had few opportunities, and none of ‘em were expected to keep jobs all their lives, because they were expected to get married and become mothers. And not every girl is as strong as you are. And a lot of ‘em just wanted to get on with it.”

“Get on with what?” she shouted, starting to really get heated.

“Life! I mean, men were being shipped to Europe and Asia and dying every day. And all a girl wanted was her own house, her own man, and a family. Dames didn’t live alone. Not the way it is now. My mam was very different for not getting remarried.”

There was a beat of silence. Steve dropped his head and began to turn away, but Darcy reached out and took hold of his arm.

“Steve, are you OK?” she tested, trying to look up into his eyes, but he kept turning away.

“Yeah, just…I got the feeling that the reason my mother never remarried was because no man wanted to take care of her sickly kid. Like, I was a block for her dating. She never said it, but you know, you hear people talking…” He turned away from her and folded his arms.

“You mean gossiping. Oh, Steve, I’m so sorry,” she said, slipping her arms around his waist from behind and pressing her cheek to his warm back. 

"S'ok, you know. It’s the past, right?” He turned slowly in her arms, and pulled her up against his chest.

“Very past. And while your body may be perfect now, I would still keep you if you went back to that little guy again.” Darcy shined her brightest smile up at Steve. Warmth flooded his belly, the love she showed him, how much she actually did care for him. How could he have thought she would be attracted to someone like Pietro?

The kiss started gently, first Steve just touching his mouth to Darcy’s, testing her, not wanting to take it too far. He wasn’t ready for Darcy to reach up and pull him down to her, opening her mouth against his. In surprise, he opened to her, but the touch of her tongue jolted him back, and Steve stepped back, pulling from Darcy’s arms, more from embarrassment than shock.

“Whoa, OK, we should call it a night, I think,” Steve said, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand, and turning himself away from Darcy. He didn’t need her to see his lack of experience firsthand. He walked away into the living room, leaving a shocked Darcy behind.

“OK, I didn’t just imagine that, right?” Darcy said, following Steve into the next room and stood looking at him, astonished. “Did we have too much garlic?” She tested her breath in her hand, frowned and then shook her head in the negative.

“No,” Steve answered quickly, turning a concerned look to Darcy’s confusion. “I just…I don’t want to push for…”

“Oh my Thor! What conversation did we just have! Steve, I know you come from a different time, but…it’s been like what, eight months? Do you really think I’m ‘not that kind of girl’? Cuz I gotta tell you, I am. And I’m mighty sick of my vibrator. I mean,” Darcy put her hands on his chest to gain his full attention, “is it because you’re a virgin?”

And this is when Steve finally blew a gasket to let rip all of the frustration he’d been holding in. “I am not a virgin! Why does everyone assume that?! I am not a holy vessel of purity and virtue! I am not a symbol of American truth and an icon of patriotic justice! I’m a man, goddamit! I had my first drink during Prohibition when I was nine years old! Yeah, that’s right. We used to run messages from a whore house to different speak easies in the city. Well, Bucky did the running. My first job was sittin’ on a roof next door to see if government license plates were coming over the bridge. I’d call down to Bucky and he’d take off to the first brewery, and they’d go on and on. How do you think a single woman kept a sick kid in medicine, even working at a hospital? And this is before the Depression. You modern people think you know everything.”

Steve was so angry, both with himself for letting the charade go on too long, and with the world for making him into something he was tired of living up to be. Darcy stood back, eyes wide, and the only word Steve could think of to describe her was “gob smacked”. 

“And yeah, I did have sex. There was a girl on the tour, but it was a bad outcome… Look, I’m a man, and believe me, I want you. I just…” Steve turned away and walked to the living room, looking at the array of photos Darcy had hung in a multi-frame. Pictures of her with family, friends, one with Ian. She liked the picture because they were in a particularly beautiful garden in London. She wasn’t afraid. Why was he?

“I’m sorry it wasn’t very good for you, Steve. I mean, no one’s first time is perfect, really. Mine was a disaster. I was in college, since I wanted to keep the rumors from high school just rumors.” She touched Steve’s arm and he turned to her. The question was evident in his eyebrows. “Oh, you know, big boobs, I MUST be a big slut. It helped that I didn’t get contacts until I was in college. Conscious decision. And my glasses in high school were really nerdy.”

This brought a smile to Steve’s face. “I’m sorry you went through that. I hate bullies.”

“Yeah, I heard that about you,” she noted, poking Steve’s rock hard abs. He was a bit ticklish, but he never let Darcy tickle him for long. “So, anyway, my first time was my Computer Science lab partner. He was eager…too eager. It was over before it began, I think. But we dated a while longer, and it got better. If you’re worried that we’ll be terrible together, well…we probably will, at first.”

Then the words of wisdom that came from Wanda from the night she taught him to dance came floating back into his head. That Darcy would understand, and he shouldn’t be embarrassed in front of her. He shouldn’t be afraid…

“Steve, I just…” And Darcy’s words were cut off by Steve’s mouth crashing down on hers. His arms slid around her body, pulling her up against him tightly. He poured all of his feelings into his kiss, all of his fears, and all of his joy from spending time with such a beautiful woman. They pulled apart slowly, nothing but the sound of the television behind them droning something about an ear wax vacuum.

Sweeping her eyes up Steve’s chest to his face, Darcy waited for the tell-tale blush to sweep up his face, but it didn’t. And she smiled up at him. “What were you saying?” Steve asked.

“Nothing, not a thing.” Steve dipped his head again to capture her lips, reached down and grasped her about the waist to pull her up against his chest. Darcy wound her arms around his neck and held on tightly as he walked them to plop down on the couch, her form spread about his lap. Two big hands slid their way up her hips to ass, grabbing and squeezing. Darcy wiggled in his lap, giggling as she began trailing kisses down his neck to his shoulder, where she growled into his skin and sunk her teeth into his flesh.

“Yeowch!” he yelled, pulling back, but sporting a wide smile. “You’re a wildcat! Takin’ a pound of flesh before we start?” he asked with a smirk, and then he proceeded to graze his teeth over her throat, tongue lingering on her pulse point.

“I’m gonna have you begging for mercy when I’m done with you. We are, like…doing it, right?” she asked, eyes trained on his seriously.

This was the moment. Was he going to take the chance with the beautiful woman in his lap, who cared for him, possibly loved him, and taking the same chance as he was? And there she was, his brave girl hands on his face, looking down into his eyes, smiling with a naughty twinkle in her eyes. He nodded and went back to his assault on her throat. Steve pulled her to his mouth by the shoulders, and reached down to slide his hands up her back under her sweater.

“You’re moving fast?” Darcy noted, as she pulled back from Steve’s succulent mouth.

“No, Darce, just not wasting time anymore.”

“Yeah, let’s definitely not waste time,” she breathed out, reaching down to pull her sweater up over her head, displaying her lace bra, the same blue as his uniform. She leaned back, hands planted on Steve’s thighs behind her which thrust her shoulders forward, giving her a shy, pensive look. The warmth flooded from the touch of Darcy’s hands through Steve’s jeans, up his legs and pooling in his groin. The throb of his erection became an all-encompassing beat in his body, timed with his heart, which beat so hard, he thought Darcy could hear it.

“You are so beautiful,” he whispered to the woman filling his lap, arms wrapped to bring her closer to him, to kiss him deeply.

“You know just what to say to a woman,” she sighed, as his mouth moved down her throat to her collar bone. Her hands slid up his shoulders, defined easily through the thin material of his t-shirt, up the back of his neck into his hair. Steve kept his hair close cropped and he could feel the warmth of her fingers against his scalp, calming his apprehension.

Darcy, however, had waited long enough. She stood up and grabbed Steve’s hand pulled him up from the couch with a groan. She smiled when he allowed her to haul him up, but his smile never left his face, and his eyes were as wicked as she’d ever seen them. The heat prickled up her back as she led him to her bedroom and she crawled across the day-glo tie-dye comforter to start tossing the throw pillows from the center of the bed.

“Darcy…” Steve started, but she held her hand up.

“I have condoms in the bedside drawer, it’s just you and me, and no one is going to think any less of us if we do this…”

“No, I…I was going to ask if you want me to take my clothes off first.”

This stopped Darcy in her tracks. “Oh, well, yeah sure. Be my guest. No wait!” She grabbed her iPod and flicked through it before putting it on the speaker beside her bed where it began to play some very soothing, and somewhat sexy music. “Ok, go ahead.”

Darcy leaned back on the pillows, arms folded above her head, and settled back. Steve reached up and grabbed the back collar of his t-shirt to pull it over his head, the magical way all men do, and it slid over his head, ruffling his perfect hair. But when the hem of that shirt whipped up Steve’s body, Darcy sat up reached out to him, making grabby hands in his direction. “Oh my God, please bring that sexy body over here.”

This brought the smile back to Steve’s face. He crawled to her on the bed and lay beside her, smiling up. Darcy reached out and ran her hands up the smooth expanse of his chest, past the rippling abs to the mountains of pectorals. The look on her face was almost reverence. She’d seen him pull his shirt off in the gym before to wipe his face, but touching him was much better than expected. Her nails scraped across a nipple and Steve reared back a touch.

“Did I hurt you?” She asked, looking up and her mouth hung open, in hopes of tasting him.

“No, that tickles, doll,” he said, then reached out to stoke her cheek. But she’d stopped moving. “You OK, Darce?” he asked, worry creeping across his brow.

“Yeah, I’m just wondering if there’s any way I can motorboat your chesticles…” She looked up and then the easy smile she always wore crept across her face, and she could see the last drop of anxiety leave him.

Steve leaned down and looked in Darcy’s eyes, and stroking his fingers through her hair, and lowered his mouth to hers gently, crawling onto the bed on top of her. Tentative kisses became surer of themselves. Steve opened his mouth to take Darcy’s inquisitive tongue inside, tangling his around. He tried reaching around to the clasp of her bra, but Darcy used her legs and flipped their positions, so she was on top of him, looking down at that vast expanse of chest, those narrow hips and blue sparkling eyes that made her almost ashamed of the ways she wanted to defile his body.

The clasp popped easily and Darcy shrugged out of the straps of her bra, holding the cups in place with her hands, undulating her shoulders just slightest bit to the music. At a crescendo of sound, she tossed the bra away, holding her arms up and shimmying her hips against Steve, definitely feeling his interest through his jeans. The heat radiating from him, where his chest was pinking and his loins were roasting, Darcy was sure he was far more anxious than she was.

“You want to kill me, don’t you?” he said, trying to hold her hips still with large, strong hands.

“If I wanted to kill you, I’d do this…” and Darcy stood above him and slid her yoga pants down her legs, kicking them across the room. Her lace thong matched her bra and when she reached for it, he sat up and stopped her.

“I have something for you,” he said, and with the speed only a super soldier could muster, he whipped his jeans and shorts off in an instant, sending everything flying to one of the corners of her room. Darcy looked on with hungry eyes. She knelt down across his thighs, reaching out to take his hard, jutting cock into her hands. Satiny skin searing with the strength of steel beneath it, instinctively she lowered her mouth to him. Steve’s head fell back and he let Darcy do as she liked.

Her mouth was hot and slick, and when she hollowed her cheeks, he had to fight to keep his hips on the bed. She finally met his eyes, tongue tracing under the head of his member, and he sat up. He couldn’t take it another minute. Reaching into the bedside drawer to grab one of the condoms, Steve reached out for Darcy to pull her face up to him. She took the small foil square from him and kissed him while rolling it onto him. Steve reached under her, touching her center for the first time, feeling how wet she was, how hot and ready. 

It was an interesting move as she pulled her thong off and straddled him. Her eyes never left his as she moved to hold her body above him. “You ready?” she asked.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” he said, and nearly lost his mind when she sank down onto him. Steve stroked her skin from her thighs, up her backside all the way to her shoulders. They began moving together, mouths meeting feverishly between thrusts. Steve could feel himself getting worked up further, and decided roll them over, laying Darcy out under him. One of her legs wrapped tightly around his waist, and the other she slid up his side, tickling him in the ribs, breaking his focus, and the tension.

“Have fun with it, Steve,” she whispered, pulling him down to her. They kissed more and moved gently against each other. Darcy could feel his cock pressing on her g spot and the clutching in her stomach crept up her spine, exploding through her chest, and down her arms and legs. She grabbed at the pillows and called out for Steve, who slowed down and leaned down to kiss her and hold her. But he needed to move, so Steve sat up and began slowly, but seeing the grin taking over Darcy’s face, he began to thrust in earnest. He drove into her body, mesmerized by the way her breasts moved with each thrust. He held her leg up, cradling it against his chest to kiss the inside of her ankle, running his tongue over the nub of bone.

“God, Steve, you’re making me…” she moaned, and her leg began to shake. She came again, it came from nowhere and she almost jumped off the bed.  
Steve bent over her and took her mouth in a searing kiss, pressing his chest against hers, while both of her legs slid around his waist, tightening and pulling him against her. Need took over and Steve pounded into Darcy’s body, reveling in the soft bounce her flesh provided, feeling the slide of slick skin against his hips. Darcy slid her tongue into his mouth, pressing against his, and Steve lost concentration, throwing him over the edge of pleasure. His rhythm stuttered and the groans poured from Steve’s throat. He collapsed against Darcy as the waves of pleasure coursed through him, bursting in splashes of color against the backs of his eyelids. Darcy slid her arms around his shoulders, loving the feel of his soft flesh against her. 

He didn’t move, just calmed, but he didn’t count on his partner’s discomfort. “Steve…Steve…it’s hot. I can’t breathe!” She was slapping at his arm and he slid off her, to lie on his back.

“I’m sorry, Darce, you OK?” he asked, reaching to stoke her cheek. He quickly pressed kisses to her cheek and temple, fearing he’d ruined their beautiful moment. He was relieved, and a little annoyed, to hear Darcy giggling.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Man, are we a mess! Both of us want this to be perfect for the other person, like our first time together should be this thing out of a rom-com. But you know what, Steve? We’re more com than rom!” She was still laughing.

Steve cracked a smile. “Is that bad?” he asked, pulling her to lie across his chest while he stroked her hair.

“Not for me. I figure it’s just par for the course, you know?” She nuzzled the space between his pecs, rubbing her nose against his soft, hairless skin.

There was silence between then for a few minutes. Steve just listened to Darcy’s breathing, trying to match his to hers. He thought they would settle together and take a nap, hopefully leading to something more in the night, but his plans were dashed when Darcy jumped up from her position into a kneeling one, hands braced on Steve’s chest with a huge smile on her face.

“We need ice cream! Well, I need ice cream. Don’t you need food like every few minutes?” she asked while standing up and looking around for her clothes. She gave up a mental “fuck it” and went to her dresser to pull out a comfy stretchy bra, a baggy t-shirt and some old sweats that had been cut up to the knees. “Come on, I know there was some kind of delivery earlier today, so we can have a couple different kinds. I know they keep my mint chocolate chip. And wait, have you had cookies and cream?” she questioned, reaching for his hand to pull him up. “And you need to take that rubber off before it leaks.”

Steve had been happy to watch Darcy flit about her room, her curves and flesh bouncing and jiggling to his delight. But if his girl wanted ice cream, he would take off the used condom and clean himself up, don the boxer briefs she held out to him, and then slip into his jeans and t-shirt to get her ice cream. It didn’t go unnoticed by his brain that he finally started thinking of her as his girl.

They padded barefooted to the large common kitchen and Steve got the pints of ice cream while Darcy got the spoons, bottle of chocolate sauce and a jar of cherries. Steve pulled the two gallon-sized containers of ice cream from the dedicated standing freezer in the corner, cookies and cream for him and mint chocolate chip for her. He pulled the lids off, ready to scoop some into bowls, but Darcy neglected bowls and the disher. She simply stuck her spoon in the ice cream, poured chocolate sauce on the scoop and ignored the drips on the counter top, then stuck it in her mouth, smiling all the while. As if he could be surprised by anything she did, Darcy smiled while she reached into the jar of cherries to pull one out and pop it into her mouth.

“You’re incredible,” he said, and leaned over to kiss her. Darcy enthusiastically complied.

From behind them came a lone pair of hands clapping. Startled, Steve and Darcy turned to Clint and Natasha leaning in the doorway of the kitchen. Clint had been clapping, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a bill to hand to Natasha.

“She bet me a buck that you two would do it before you got engaged. I put money on after marriage. Sorry, Steve, I underestimated you.”

“No, you underestimated me, birdbrain,” Darcy said, then stuck her tongue out at him.

“Don’t show that unless you’re going to use it,” he said, on auto-pilot.

“Excuse me?” Steve asked, before spooning some ice cream into his own mouth.

Clint stood straight, eyes wide, then looked at Natasha.

“Relax, Steve,” she said. “I’ll straighten him out.”

“Well, as of right now, I’m saying it. Darcy is off limits, for flirting, teasing and anything else. She’s my girl. Got it?”

Well, wasn’t that something? Darcy looked over to Steve tried to decide quickly how to feel. She could go all feminist and say she’s no one’s girl. Or she could take the comment as it was meant, a protective compliment. If she really knew Steve, really knew him inside, she knew that he didn’t want to possess her or smother her. What he wanted, finally, was a little bit of normalcy. She’d had it all her life, growing up with both parents, siblings, small town life. She had a sense of home. Since Steve’s mother died, he didn’t have that. And it was something she could give him. And she would do her very best to do just that.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is Wanda's return from Asgard, and what happens when she tries to control her new powers. Loki is curious and hilarity ensues, maybe not so much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you Emyrldlady for your awesome beta. This story has languished long enough. I give you all my word, I will finish this by the end of January. I know some of you have been waiting a long time for this, and thankfully, it won't be long now. I'm sorry it's still not MCU compliant, but hey, it was planned and started before Thor 2 and Cap 2, so thanks for hanging on. Comments are love, look forward to hearing them!

0o0o0

Wanda sat at the kitchen table, attempting to drink a cup of chamomile tea, willing her hands to stop shaking. Pietro sped into the room, having gone back to the Xavier School to speak with Charles about the information that Wanda had imparted on everyone earlier that day. He reached out gently to take the cup from her hands, and put it back on the saucer. He reached out and touched her cheek.

“You OK, sister?” he asked, in Russian.

“Yes, just processing. Trying to drown out the thoughts…she gave me telepathy.”

“She? Who, sister? What happened?”

“Frigga, Queen of Asgard. She gave me the ability to read minds, and they’re all just coming in at once. Everyone in this building, everyone on the street, the people in Brooklyn, and Europe and Asia. Every mind in the world is coming in. I need to just…focus and narrow the entrance to my mind. So that I can only see what I wish, and not just anyone in the room.”

‘Then you know what I’m thinking right now?’ he asked in her head.

“Yes, you’re…” Wanda stopped her words, then tried sending her voice into Pietro’s head. She wanted to say, ‘I understood you.’ Sadly, it did not work. She could hear thoughts, but not project them. The gift she was given was enough.

“OK, then, did you sleep at all, last night?” he asked.

“A little. I’ll be OK, I just need to learn to focus. Maybe I should lie down a while…” But when she tried to stand, there was a wobble in Wanda’s knees and she started to go down. Pietro grabbed his sister and they became a green and red blur to her room, where he lay her on her bed and went to her kitchen to get her some water.

“Mr. Maximoff, please excuse my presumption, but I have alerted Dr. Banner of Miss Maximoff’s sudden medical situation and he would like to come in to examine her.”

“Yes, please. I hope this is just from her powers and not something serious.” 

There was a knock on the open front door and Bruce called out, “Hello? Can I come in?”

“Please, Dr. Banner, in the bedroom.”

A rustle of noise came from the outer room and then three faces appeared at the door: Bruce, Steve and Darcy. Pietro looked in confusion, but Darcy rushed over with Bruce to check on Wanda, while Steve gently took Pietro by the shoulders to move him back.

“JARVIS warned Darcy that Wanda wasn’t well, and I was with her. Let Bruce check her over and we’ll see what he says.” Steve’s tone was very gentle, a huge difference from the day before when he was ready to take Pietro’s head off. This was a far different situation.

“No, she may only be tired. Her powers aren’t infinite, like mine. When she expends great amounts of energy, she exhausts herself. As she’s gotten older, it takes longer for her to regenerate. Don’t you always wonder why she retires to her room so early each night? She is tired.”

“I don’t wonder about a lady’s need to be in her room privately, actually. But it makes sense. And if that’s the case, Bruce will make sure that’s all that’s wrong, and we can leave her to rest. JARVIS will monitor. Oh, hey…yesterday…”

“Captain, you have nothing to say. It was all my fault. My sister has told me some things, and I thought to play Cupid. Silly, I know.” Pietro’s eyes never left his sister’s wan face.

“No, Pietro, it worked. Thanks. I…needed the push. Sorry I was rough on you.”

“We have bigger problems to solve. We do not know when this…thing will be coming.”  
The ’shush’ from Darcy was low and quick, but she was serious. She wanted everyone to be quiet for Wanda. Within a few more minutes, Bruce led everyone from the room and closed her door behind him.

“She’s just tired, like Pietro said. She whispered to me she wanted to sleep, but Pietro, she wants you to go back the school and get everything started up there.”

“Yes, thank you, Doctor.” Bruce just nodded and quietly left the room. Darcy stood in the middle of the living room of Wanda’s suite and looked over the men.

“So, are we all good? Or do you two need the measuring tape?” she asked. She stood with both arms folded over her breasts, mouth twisted in a smirk.

“We’re good,” Pietro said. “No problems. I must go, though. Tell my sister I will call her tonight.”

And with a green flash and a strong wind, Pietro was gone. Darcy looked at Steve, who wore a thoughtful frown and asked, “What’s wrong with you now?”

“Just concerned about Wanda. One of us should stay here with her.” He was looking around the room, tastefully decorated in shades of beige and red, lots of red. If anything, Wanda was consistent.

“You go, Steve,” Darcy said, putting a warm hand on his shoulder. “I’ll go grab my laptop and work from here. She’s my boss, after all.”

Strong arms came around Darcy’s shoulders and she was pulled against the warm wall of chest. One large hand spanned her entire lower back, while the other cupped the back of her head and pressed his warm lips to hers. They both pulled apart, smiling. “I’m so glad I got my head out of my ass, as Clint put it.”

“Clint isn’t always stupid.”

There was a loud bang from inside the vents. Darcy laughed. Steve waited for her until she got her computer to sit in the lounge and watch the news while she sifted through her email and all of her work. After about half an hour, JARVIS interrupted with a strange request.

“Miss Lewis, I have a request from the Prince of Asgard, Master Loki, to visit with Miss Maximoff. As she is incapacitated, you are the next logical person to ask. What should I tell him?”

That was weird. Why would he want to visit her? Didn’t he hate all humans, her most of all? OK, let’s see that this was about, Darcy thought to herself.

“Yeah, J-boo, send him up. And make sure he’s got a detail with him, kay?” she asked.

“Of course, Miss Lewis. Should I alert Captain Rogers?” he asked. 

“Um, not yet. Just keep an eye on the situation and if things get hinky, put the alert out.” Hinky was a word Darcy had to explain to JARVIS with great care, and great detail. It wasn’t something Tony gave him protocols for.

After putting her tablet away and checking her reflection, Darcy waited for Loki to arrive with his security detail. Polite like they were, the SHIELD agents knocked on the door and waited for her to open the door. She did and stood back while 2 agents checked the space, and her, and two flanked him in the hall before allowing him in. Darcy got a good look at him. She’d seen him before he was introduced to the Avengers that day at the meeting, and he seemed angry, almost robust with hate and disrespect. This was a totally different man. He seemed even paler, if that was possible, his skin like fragile ancient paper. This man was thoroughly broken.

“May I see Lady Scarlet, please?” Loki asked, almost reverently.

Why do you want to see her?” Darcy asked, blocking the doorway.

“We’ve grown a tentative friendship. I would just like to make sure she’s alright.” 

“Uh, yeah, sure, OK. She’s out cold, sleeping,” Darcy explained, leading Loki to the bedroom door. “JARVIS is watching her, to make sure she doesn’t like, die or anything.”

Darcy cringed internally, knowing that wasn’t the right thing to say about her boss, but she wasn’t really sure what to say to a fallen god about her mutant boss who’s wiped out from the gift his Queen of Asgard mother gave her. Some days, there was no way to explain how this was her life.

“I am carefully watching all vital signs of Miss Maximoff, Miss Lewis,” JARVIS assured them.

“Thanks, Jarvy,” Darcy said, pointing a finger gun at the ceiling and pulling the trigger.

The young woman let Loki to the door and opened it for him, allowing him to look inside. The room was cast in semi-darkness from the drawn curtains, the pale face of Wanda in repose from the low light shining in from the open door. After taking a few steps to the side of the bed, Loki reached out to Wanda, possibly just to touch her cheek, but this only alarmed the guards who quickly pulled their weapons and shouted at Loki to stand down. Yelling in a sleeping woman’s room brings just the effect Darcy didn’t want, and Wanda was jolted awake. Great, now what?

“Guys, hey, look, take him to the living room, and I’ll be right out,” Darcy said, shaking her head sadly.

In true jack-booted thug fashion, they manhandled Loki out of the room and Darcy closed the door so she could speak to Wanda in private before going out to deal with Loki. It would give the former god time to calm down as well, considering he looked like he was about to either shit or die.

“Hey, bosslady, how are you? Feeling any better?” Darcy asked, turning the lamp on beside the bed to sit beside the witch. A delicate hand rose from the bed and Wanda touched her own forehead.

“I’m better, but still very tired. I think I’ll just rest for the day. You’re able to cover the liaison office for me today aren’t you? Just go on down without me.”

“Yeah, sure, I’m good. ‘Bout time you took off my training wheels!” Darcy smiled at her own joke.

“Stay on the sidewalk. And wear your helmet,” she joked.

“Are you hungry at all? Or maybe would like a cup of tea?” Darcy asked, voice serious for the moment.

“No, I’m fine now. I’ll contact JARVIS for anything. He can send an appropriate person to deliver it. You just clear up this afternoon’s work, and hey, where are my boots, by the way?” Wanda asked, sitting up slowly.

“Boots?” Darcy asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“The red ones, like Steve wears. I thought you were going to get me a pair,” she said, turning to the side and letting her feet hit the floor.

“Oh, yeah, well, Steve and Tony have been working on his suit, and you are going to love what they did! Less USO costume and more World War Two utility.”

“I look forward to it. Now, go see to work and Loki. And no, I’m not angry with him. Let him know I’m grateful for his concern.”

“You got it, bosslady.” Darcy left Wanda and went to the outer lounge, where Loki sat on the sofa and the two guards were standing and watching, hands on their weapons. “OK, back it down. Loki is mortal, you can’t use guns on him. I thought you guys were carrying Tasers. I’m not cool with guns in here!”

The agents looked at each other, clearly confused by the young woman who was dressing them down.

“But please, stand there and act like I don’t actually have Director Fury and Assistant Director Hill on my cell phone speed dial.”

“Agent Lewis, if I may,” came the soft voice of JARVIS. “I would be pleased to contact both Director Fury and Assistant Director Hill and send them video of this debacle on your behalf. If that is your wish.”

“What do you say, you thugs?” Darcy said, hands on her hips. “You switch out those Glocks for Tasers and I don’t send your bosses the video of your blunder.”

“Agent Lewis, all due…whatever,” started Thug 1, “but you don’t carry as much weight as you think.”

“Really? Is that what you think?” she asked, crossing her arms under her breasts. “Do you know who my boyfriend is?”

“What I think is that while you were scuttled away in Norway with Dr. Foster, I lost two good friends on the Helicarrier when this guy tried to take over the planet, said Thug 1. “I’m not taking any chances this time.”

“JARVIS, where is Steve in the tower?”

“Agent Lewis, he has just finished sparring with His Highness, Thor. He is on his way to his own floor, but I can ask him to come to you, and bring his shield if need be.”

The smile Darcy bestowed upon the two thugs was pure malevolence. Apparently not wanting to meet Captain America in a bad mood, both thugs must have thought it was a good idea to do as Darcy asked. But Thug 2 had a question.

“What about him?” he asked, pointing at Loki who sat in an easy chair in Wanda’s lounge. 

“What about him?” Darcy asked. “I’ve been training in hand to hand with Agent Romanov. And target shooting with Agent Barton. You tell me if I’m prepared for a human prince.” Darcy looked down at Loki and winked at him. His face revealed nothing.

Jack-booted Thugs 1 and 2 left the room, one of them grumbling about Darcy getting what she deserved. When the door closed, Darcy let out a large sigh and went to Wanda’s kitchen.

“Would you like anything? Water, cup of tea, Coke?” she asked, pulling a bottle of water from the refrigerator. She looked around inside, mentally noting to order groceries for her personal use. It was one of the few things she did for her boss that she wouldn’t do for anyone else.

“I’ve had my fill of tea. Coca-Cola doesn’t seem like anything befitting a member of the Asgardian royal family.” Loki sat up straighter, brushing invisible lint from his trousers.

“Really? A few minutes ago you were going to plotz when those agents had their guns in your face. Not really royal, if you ask me.”

Looking at the bottle of water in her hand, Darcy put it back and took the can of Coke from the refrigerator. She pulled two glass tumblers from the cabinet and after putting some ice in, she splashed a bit of Jack Daniels in each glass, then covered it all with the soda. She plunked one down in front of Loki and sat with hers on the opposite side of the lounge. She raised her glass to him and took a sip.

“What is this?” Loki asked, looking at the glass with disdain.

“Jack Daniels and Coke. Enjoy.” She sipped again.

“Human spirits are useless to me. You waste your drink.”

“Really? Well, you forget, I was in New Mexico when you sent your flaming one-eyed Jack down Main Street. Before that, Thor went out drinking with Erik. While Erik was pretty plastered, Thor was happily toasted, too. So, drink up.”

With a sigh and a royal harrumph, Loki took the glass and quickly downed the drink. He tried his best, but he couldn’t hide the small shudder as the Jack Daniels and Coke made its way down. He placed the glass back on the table and coughed a bit.

“Thank you.”

“My pleasure. So, you two became friends, huh?” Darcy asked, crossing her legs. She enjoyed being a lady occasionally.

“I have disclosed many things to Lady Scarlet.”

Darcy smiled and snorted a little laugh. “That’s what Thor calls her, too.”

“My mother as well. She knows my family.”

“She’s a good lady to work for. And I hope she’s helping you.”

On went the conversation, a little small talk, between sips of Jack and Coke. Darcy finished hers and they just sat talking, waiting for the agents to return with their Tasers. After seeing Loki and the agents off, Darcy let out a huge breath. That was an afternoon to remember.

0o0o0


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy needs to finish what she started. Steve is a troll. Coulson pops up. And Loki is...misunderstood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I'm still writing this, still updating. I'm really trying to finish it. I promise I will. I'll do my best, really. Feel free to go on tumblr and poke me at amazon-x.tumblr.com and I promise, I'll be penitent. And I thank you again, as always, to my amazing beta, Emyrldlady, who without her help and support, I'd suck a lot. Thank you, sweet lady.

0o0o0

The darkness was thick in the room, like humid air. She moved quietly, gun up, hand behind her on the wall as she inched forward. The seconds counted down in her head, counted to when the lights would come up, the sirens and strobes would start and she’d have to run the gauntlet. This was her final test in SHIELD, then she’d be cleared to carry a weapon at all times. And when you work with the Avengers, you need a weapon.

Darcy knew this was her only chance to prove she could hold her own. Steve had read the riot act to her when he found out that she had sat drinking with Loki for almost half an hour. Not that she couldn’t hold a shot or two of Jack Daniels on her own. But she made herself vulnerable to an enemy, and that was unacceptable.

So there she was, taking her superhero/secret agent final, for lack of a better word, waiting for the go. Really, she didn’t know why she was expecting something normal, like the lights to go on in the tactical center, but the go signal was an explosion to her left, forcing her forward in the dark. She slowly inched to her right and bumped a table, glancing back to the left and seeing the fireball approaching. Items on the table were swept to the floor on the right and she propped the table on its side, to shield herself from the wave. The heat poured over Darcy’s head, and she inwardly smiled at having put her hair in a tight bun before stepping into the arena. She took 30 seconds to look through the items on the floor and found a mini Mag light, extra full magazines for her weapon, and a radio. This had all been added in the dark when she was waiting.

She waited to see if she could turn the light or radio on, not knowing if she would alert someone to her presence, but the fireball had given her enough light to see to the right that she was clear to the end of the corridor and could turn on the light, then the radio, which she did. There was a lot of chatter, which she tried to listen to, to see if she had a friendly radio, or a combatant radio, but it was friendly.

“This is Agent Lewis. I am inside the facility,” she started, not knowing what the place was supposed to be. Even in the FBI they gave you a scenario. In SHIELD, you got no such luxury. You were dropped into a situation and good fucking luck, Chuck.

“Go, Agent Lewis,” came Steve’s voice, strong and clear. Sure, get her boyfriend to guide her.

“Captain, I am in a corridor that recently went boom, so I need some guidance as to how to get the fuck out of here, roger?” she said, taking a deep breath. OK, Stevie, deal with that.

“Language, agent, this is an open SHIELD channel. We are being monitored. I have your position in the east end of the building, and you need to get to the northwest exit. Is the way clear?”

”Yes, so far. I’m going to start my way through. Do you see any unfriendlies in my path?” Hey, it didn’t hurt to ask. Maybe her boyfriend, who came in her mouth that morning, would take pity on her and give her a hint.

“Now, if I gave you the answers, it wouldn’t be a test,” he sassed back to her and the channel went silent.

“Fucking asshole,” she muttered to herself and made her way slowly forward down the corridor to a door.

Darcy kept every tactic, hint, shortcut and just plain all the help each Avenger had given her at the forefront of her mind. Slowly, she made her way past guys shooting at her, with paint bullets of course, but she thankfully didn’t get worse than a graze on her left shoulder. It stung, even though she wasn’t really shot, but she didn’t let it stop her in hand-to-hand with the agents they sent in her way to stop her progress. Finally, she reached the door to the northwest exit, and she found herself outside in the sunshine, in a field surrounded by dense woods. And nothing. No one was there. This was SHIELD’s Virginia testing facility. In the middle of nowhere. Survival skills? Really?

Darcy started around the building, a plain, white building, no windows, like any bad-guy disused warehouse type building. But rounding the east wall, she saw a truck waiting, someone in the driver’s seat. Ah, OK, so could be a friendly, could be a baddie.

0o0o0

Steve sat in the driver’s seat of the SHIELD SUV, watching Darcy’s progress around the back of the truck in the rearview mirrors, as she snuck up behind him and raised her gun. “So, is this my lucky day or my last day?” she asked, pressing the muzzle of the gun into the back of his neck, behind his ear, where she was just kissing him that morning. Focus, Rogers.

“Agent Lewis, are you going to kill your ride?” he asked.

The gun went down and she smiled. Which was short lived as bullets started flying past the SUV, so Darcy opened the back door behind the driver and shouted for Steve to take off. He drove off down the narrow road between two trees that she remembered from when they brought her there, all the while Darcy shot behind them out the back window at the combatants pursuing them on foot. They pulled out of the woods into a clearing by the main SHIELD facility in that area and the rest of the testing team, and the other Avengers were waiting for her. It was worth noting that Tony stood by with a bottle of champagne and several glasses in his other hand, waiting to serve up.

“So, how did our girl do?” Tony asked, looking to Clint and Natasha who were monitoring the entire scenario on video screens and computers in the mobile command unit.

After almost falling out of the back of the SUV, the adrenalin rush having worn off, Steve half carried Darcy to the group waiting, which included Wanda, Bruce, Jane, Thor and Coulson. The Avengers group were all smiling, despite the fact they were standing in essentially a parking lot in Virginia in June. Everyone was silent and waited for Coulson to finish swiping and poking at his tablet. He’d come out to the facility to watch Darcy graduate, fondly, and not so fondly, remembering Darcy after the Southwest situation. But he wanted to surprise Darcy.

“Son of Coul! How did I do?” she asked, smiling as he stepped out of the mobile command unit.

“Well, as the information from the individuals involved, and Darcy, you broke Cassidy’s wrist…”

“He grabbed my boob. He’s lucky I didn’t break his neck,” she retorted.

“He did what?” Steve said, straightening.

“Tell me where this Cassidy is,” Thor stated, using his VERY OUTSIDE voice. “Using one’s opponent’s body against them in that manner is unbefitting a warrior and unacceptable.”

“He did not grab your breast, Agent Lewis,” Coulson corrected. “He was reaching for your arm and you moved too fast for him to react. Which is points for you, but does nothing for Cassidy.”

“Did she pass?” Jane asked, hoping for her former intern. They were friends, good friends, close friends, and Jane loved seeing Darcy succeed after all of the support Darcy gave her.

“Of course she passed,” came the loud reply from behind them, which turned out to be Nick Fury getting out of a standard SHIELD SUV with Maria Hill coming around from the driver’s side. Even she was smiling at Darcy, and Steve didn’t think Maria liked anyone beside him and Fury. 

“Well, then let’s really celebrate,” Wanda said, waving hands in front of everyone so that there were glasses floating before each person. “Tony, we’re waiting on you.” She winked at him.

“I hate magic,” he mumbled, twisting off the covering of the champagne cork. He popped it off into the woods and moved the spout of champagne pouring out over Darcy’s glass. “New agent gets the first taste. And here’s to…why the hell you would want to be an agent in the first place?” Tony toasted. Everyone rolled their eyes.

0o0o0

After a toast or two, and Hill had checked on the testing agents, making sure everyone was relatively safe, especially Cassidy, the entire group made their way to wherever they’d started the day. For Darcy and Steve, that meant back to New York, sitting in the back of a Quinjet, Natasha and Clint at the controls and Tony criticizing Clint’s flying skills. Bruce had decided to stay in Virginia, and visit some colleagues at Culver university, as well and try and look up his old flame, Betty Ross. 

Darcy sat beside Steve talking softly about the test op and what he thought of how she performed. Steve went over certain things, but when he turned to ask her a question, he found her leaning against his shoulder, sleeping softly. This broke a huge smile across his face, and he leaned back to pull her against his chest, as much as her seat harness would allow, and he listened to the engine roar. If he wasn’t mistaken, Clint had kicked in the after burner and they would make it back to New York in about 45 minutes. Waking her wasn’t something he wanted to do, but it would need to be done when they touched down on the tower landing pad. It always struck Steve as curious of what people on the street thought of this huge plane coming in for a landing on a building in the middle of the island of Manhattan, but after Thor, the Hulk, Loki, the Chitauri and probably something else soon enough, New Yorkers were pretty sanguine about things out of the ordinary.

When it came time to disembark, Steve began unclipping Darcy from her seat, but tried to do it as gently and quietly as he could. Alas, he wasn’t as quiet as he thought.

“I’ll be really disappointed if you don’t try and cop a feel while pulling me out,” she murmured softly enough for only his super enhanced hearing over the power down of the engines.

“Not the time or place, sweetness,” he whispered against her ear. Helping her to her feet revealed a very sore Darcy, who’d taken several hard shots from the agents in the test op. “You sure you’re going to be OK, doll?” he asked, looking her up and down. In the BDUs she wore, it was hard to tell if there was any swelling.

“Yeah, nothing a hot bubble bath, a glass of wine and a Vicodin won’t cure,” she drawled, her steps slower than Steve’s as they entered the elevator and went down to her floor. It was only two levels, but it wasn’t something Steve wanted to chance her walking on the spiral staircase connecting the floors.

“Well, do you need any help?” asked Steve, with a naughty glint lighting up his clear blue eyes.

With the pretense of thinking it over, Darcy snickered a breath and said, “Yeah, I could use some help washing my back.”

0o0o0

The ride for two short floors was interminable, and when they finally stumbled into the apartment, Steve made a beeline for the bathroom, while Darcy wandered into her bedroom and started removing her clothes. She could hear the water running, and Steve looking in her cabinets for something to put in the water. The smell of the bubble bar he was using, something floral, wafted out to her. She sat on her bed, still unmade from the morning, and just waited for Steve. She was truly tired, so much so she couldn’t even find the energy to finish undressing, just sat there in her bra, panties and socks. She didn’t want to have to look at the bruises on her body.

“If this is a gift for me to unwrap, I’m truly not worthy,” he practically moaned.

“I’m not mew-mew, you know,” she said, laying back. The intake of Steve’s breath indicated the presence of bruising, but where she was concerned, she thought he was a bit alarmist, anyway. “Is it all that bad?” she asked.

“It’s just…striking. Come on, a bath will soothe you.” Steve reached beneath Darcy and gently pulled her into his arms, cradling her against his chest like she was made from spun glass. He could walk so gracefully, Darcy swore he was gliding on rails into the bathroom. He placed her on the small settee in the corner of the room and set about the task of removing the rest of her garments. Like a lady’s manservant, he knelt before her, rubbing her feet as he pulled each black sock off.

“You know, if you get me undressed and into the water fast enough, it’ll still be warm enough for you to join me.” Two dark eyebrows danced above Darcy’s twinkling blue eyes.

Never had Darcy seen Steve undress as quickly as at that moment. Then he reverently slipped her bra from her shoulders, and helped her stand to slide her panties down her legs. He stopped her a moment, just kneeling there, nude, and delicately pressed his lips to her abdomen. “You making a wish down there?” she asked, wondering if he was trying to bless them with a child.

“No, just thankful you aren’t really hurt. That you know how to protect the important parts.” He smiled up at her, no teeth, just all soft poochy lips, eyes half closed and sleepy-looking.

“OK. Cuz yeah, I’d like to have kids and all, I’d just prefer not having a badge and a gun in the delivery room, you know?”

“I know,” Steve agreed. He stood and guided Darcy into the water before he took his place behind her in the overlarge tub. Darcy settled back against his chest and sighed. A warm, wet hand came up to stroke her cheek, putting her further at ease. “Whacha thinkin’, dollface?” he asked, Brooklyn accent sliding out easily.

“How the hell am I supposed to tell my parents about this?” she moaned in complaint.

“Uh…about me or SHIELD?” he asked.

“Both.”

“Oh dear…”

0o0o0

Wanda entered Loki’s suite, and was truly thankful she could influence the guards to wait outside the entire time during their visit. She didn’t know if it was her assured words or the mental powers she was learning to wield carefully. It wasn’t difficult to read a mind and then send a probability hex to change it. She was working with her magic at night to try and guide the hex into a direction, but it would take time, as all guided magic did, in the days since returning from Asgard with her gift.

“Lady Scarlet, you are looking much better,” he said, a gentle smile ghosting across his lips and then gone instantaneously.

“Why thank you, Loki. I feel much better, and I’m working on my magic when I can. I was very pleased that you were concerned about me. I take it as a good sign that we are becoming friends.”

“I wouldn’t be so overly confident.” And his previous arrogance was back.

“Well, at least you’re being polite. I can take that as a good sign.”

There was a long, awkward silence. Wanda carefully studied Loki, as he sat, looking down at the carpeting. She could see his eyes flicking about, but he had learned to hide his thoughts long ago, from his mother. His smirk was inscrutable, so Wanda decided it was better just to move on.

“So, have you remembered anything else about your time with the Other, or Thanos?” she asked quietly.

If asked, Wanda would say it looked as if things had gone into slow motion. But truly, it was milliseconds, as Loki jumped up from the chair and braced himself in a corner, crouched down, frantically looking around the room. Wanda braced for something to appear, fully knowing that Loki was unpowered, but anything could happen.

“Lady Scarlet, I know that in your education, you have learned that names have power. Saying their names, not so much Thanos, but…please. No more names.” 

Levering herself from the chair, Wanda slowly walked to the spot where Loki crouched and held her hand out to him. “Your Highness, neither your brother, nor I, will let any harm come to you. I will protect you with all the strength I would any human, or my team mates. I gave my word to your mother. And I give my word to you.”

Holding out her hand, Wanda assisted Loki to stand and smiled at him. “Why don’t we go to the common floor. There is a massive kitchen there. We can make a meal together, something you can see made yourself. I understand you had thought we were poisoning you.”

“The thought had crossed my mind. I suppose.”

They made their way to the kitchen on the common floor and the heavenly scent of freshly baked cookies hit their noses as they exited the elevator into the hallway. Wanda led the way, stopping at the door and taking in a great lungful of the sweet perfume of Toll House chocolate chips. 

"Oh, there's a smell I love,” Wanda said, taking in a huge lungful of the sweet cookie aroma. “When I first came to this country, I didn’t know cookies could be so sweet. I wasn’t used to it. In Europe, cookies aren’t this sugary.” Darcy turned as the two walked to the table in the middle of the room and seated themselves at the high table on tall stools to watch Darcy spoon cookie dough on to baking sheets.

“Uh, hi boss lady. What’s going on?” Darcy had frozen midway with dough still on her spoon, just above the baking sheet.

“Nothing important. I just thought it would be a nice thing to get Loki out of his suite, and into the rest of the building. He’s been very cooperative, and he deserves some respect for that. Do you agree?”

Darcy looked from Wanda, to Loki who was taking in the large, almost industrial, kitchen on the common floor of the tower. Darcy had made herself comfortable, after moving up to the same floor as Steve, and loved baking cookies, and cakes, and the pies her grandma made when she was a little girl. And here she was, in front of the most powerful mutants in the world, covered in flour.

“Uh, sure. Have a cookie.”

There was a commotion from the ceiling, then the wall, and the screening for one of the vents was pushed out, making a clatter on the floor. Clint slid out next and all but pushed Darcy out of the way, pulling a pistol from a holster on his leg and pointing it at Loki.

“Step away, Red. He’s done. He’s given us all the info he can. Now, he’s mine.” Clint’s breath was coming faster and Wanda could see he was zeroing in on his target, fully intent upon making Loki his next mortal target. Without even raising a hand, Wanda wrested the gun from Clint’s hand and made the bullets go flying out. Sadly, one landed in the fresh cookie dough.

“Great, Toll House a la gun oil,” Darcy complained. “What the hell was that, Barton?” she demanded, rounding on the man.

“I thought he was supposed to be in his room,” he shouted at Wanda, turning towards the other woman.

“He has the right to come out occasionally. His room doesn’t have a balcony, so I thought fresh air might do him some good.”

“Do him some good?!” Clint shouted. “What about me?” 

Wanda knew this confrontation was coming. Clint hadn’t spoken to her much in the months that she’d been working with Loki, but he also hadn’t wanted to work with her on his issues. She was willing to go into his mind to clear out the breaks in his memories, to wipe away his guilt, but he refused. He wouldn’t let her know the depth of his fears and guilt. But she would continue to try and help him. She owed him that much.

“Clint, I’m sorry. But I was tasked with his wellbeing by the Queen of Asgard. I can’t take that lightly. Keeping him indoors for so long will drive him insane. And you know what I mean.” Wanda tilted her head slightly, since she knew each of his mission reports, and knew of the two times he was a POW.

“OK, everyone stop!” Darcy shouted. “My cookies are in the oven, and they’ll burn if you people keep fighting in my kitchen! Now, out, all of you. Take the dish with you. I’ll make another batch for down in the labs.”

“We will go to the media room, I think,” Wanda said, evenly. “I’m sure we can find some entertainment for the time being.” Wanda stood slowly and made a show of pushing Loki out of the room, never moving her eyes from Clint’s. When she was safely out of range of Clint’s glare, she turned a bright smile on Loki, though down in bones, she knew Clint would never forgive her this slight. He could forgive her many things, but this moment, this time, it was her choice of the criminal over the hero.

Wanda sat down on one of the large wide couches and indicated that Loki should do the same. With a grimace he looked down to inspect the micro suede covering before perching on the edge of a cushion. He tapped his chin with one finger, eyes slithering over every surface in the room. 

“So, now what?” Loki asked. Wanda just rolled her eyes.

0o0o0

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, tell me how I'm doing in comments, let me know how you like it. Or not. I'm OK with that. And I'll have more as soon as I can!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint has a heart to heart with Phil. There's finally some action! But can the team do it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, my poor beta smacked me around so hard to make this chapter right. I just threw it together, thinking it would be OK, and she was like, uh-uh, bitch, get this shit in shape! Thank you, Emyrldlady, I can't do this without you.

Clint lined up the shot and broke the balls, each solid taking its own path to a pocket. Coulson stood by, watching and waiting. All that was left on the table, yet again, were stripes and the eight ball, with the cue ball spinning to sit beside it. Of course, Clint sank it on his next shot, with a wide smile.

“That’s another beer you owe me,” Clint said, taking the bottle from the edge of the pool table.

“With as many beers as I owe you, you’ll die of alcohol poisoning,” Coulson said, grabbing his glass of club soda with lime. He finished it, then led Clint away to the bar and ordered two more club sodas. He determined that Clint had reached his limit. A limit that Coulson was comfortable with anyway.

They sat together, sipping their club sodas, just staring at the back of the bar, the different bottles of liquor, a rainbow of spirits.

“I still can’t believe she chose him over me,” Clint finally said. “After all we’d been through, she chose that… guy over me. You know, like you chose them over us.”

Phil was quiet for a long moment, giving gravity to Clint’s words, choosing to ignore the resentment of leaving. They’d had conversations about this before. 

Wanda and Clint had worked together on many cases. She’d shielded him from bullets, bombs, and the occasional drink thrown in his face. He remembered the time when Clint had been accidentally turned into a child, she came out of retirement to help him. She had felt incredibly guilty after the Loki/Battle of New York incident, with how Loki used Clint, and wanted to help him, even considering coming out of retirement before she did. She even did something she promised not to do. She had turned back time to put Clint back to normal, something she had been forbidden to do by the Norns. If things had happened along the way, only Coulson would remember.

“You know that Wanda cares for you very much. She considers that this is her job, working with Loki. A royal decree, yes, but just a job. You, she considers a friend. A close friend. How could she protect you from the Queen of Asgard for killing the Prince, even a disgraced one?”

“She’s got more magic than…”

“Yes, but then Thor, and Odin, Sif, the Warriors Three all avenging the Queen? I can’t fight that with SHIELD forces. And you know I would back you up in a fight. But not a suicide mission.”

“So, what are you saying?” Clint asked, turning full on to face Phil.

“I’m saying, have just a little more faith in Wanda for just a little longer. You know she’s a smart lady. You know she has a plan. And her plans have plans. I can talk to her if you want me to.”

“Right, and then she says I have daddy issues because we’re friends.”

“She doesn’t say that. She says you have father issues. And sometimes I think she’s right. But right now, I’m going to drop you off at your place in Bed-Stuy and keep you out of the line of fire for a while. Or from firing at Loki.”

Phil paid their tab and led Clint out to the shiny black SHIELD vehicle Phil had borrowed, and settled his friend in the front seat. Clint didn’t appear intoxicated at all, but Phil wouldn’t feel right letting Clint loose on the New York subway system alone. Pity the subway.

0o0o0

Wanda tried her best to channel calmness as she practiced yoga, but it seemed that everyone wanted to be in the gym when she did. Well, not everyone, of course. Steve and Darcy were doing whatever they were doing in his room. They were probably watching Dog Cops, knowing Darcy. And Clint was very scarce in the tower. He’d returned to have one meeting, but other than that, he’d stayed scarce. But she knew he was in the tower somewhere that day. Loki was looking around at the equipment with disdain, while Natasha was swinging away at one of Steve’s super soldier heavy bags.

“Really, Ms. Romanoff, do you find hitting an inanimate object so…appealing?” Loki asked haughtily.

“Would you prefer I hit you instead?” she asked back, then cut off any answer by returning to her boxing.

Pepper was running on a treadmill, and Tony was sitting on an exercise bike he’d moved next to her treadmill and was lazily pedaling while watching her do 7-minute miles. Bruce was working a Pilates machine. The noise was deafening.

Yet, not as loud as the claxons that began ringing when Wanda had just stood from her mat to stretch into warrior pose. This was a claxon Tony had rigged up to alert for incoming messages from Nick Fury when the Avengers were needed to assemble. Several holographic video screens appeared in the gym with Nick’s face front and center.

“Hate to interrupt you all being lazy, but it seems there’s a new pirate situation in the Gulf of Mexico. Some terrorist group, name withheld for reasons of insanity, have taken over a drilling platform, threatening to set fire to it and kill everyone on board if they’re not given ten billion dollars. The president immediately thought of you. It’s go time, kids.”

“Copy that,” Steve said from his suite. The universal emergency conferencing was something Tony was suddenly very proud of designing.

“Good, I’m glad you can all finally do what you’re intended to do. The helicarrier is on its way down to the Gulf, but I want a meeting on the bridge ASAP.”

“Roger, Avengers assemble, quinjet wheels up in 10,” Steve directed and shut down his comms. They’d been through countless drills. It was why Tony designed a prehensile suit to fly to him wherever he was in the world using his private satellite network.

Wanda straightened up and sighed. She didn’t relish being in the “war room” in her sweaty yoga togs, even though a pink unitard with a red leotard over it was too adorable, according to Darcy. She’d been looking forward to a massage and hot shower, but pirates waited for no one.

“Loki, I’m going to trust you to go to your suite. JARVIS won’t let you out of the building, but I don’t want you wandering on the SHIELD floors where someone with a weapon could hurt you. Please, take the elevator and go directly to your rooms.”

“As if I have any interest in the SHIELD floors of the overdone tower palace,” Loki snarked and walked towards the elevator door that JARVIS held for him.

Taking a separate elevator, Wanda rode down to the war room floor. Thankfully it was empty, wearing what she did, bare feet included. She got off the elevator and used her hand print to open the high security doors. Darcy was already there, holding a Starkpad and using it to start a quinjet-to-helicarrier rendezvous. Wanda could see Darcy bringing up the coordinates to send to the quinjet for Hawkeye.

“Bosslady, Fury wants you in the field on this one. Says your powers can come in handy.” Wanda stopped short.

“Is he serious? Me? In the field? He’s out…”

“Of my mind, Agent Maximoff?” Fury demanded from a screen behind Wanda. She turned slowly to look at it. “I may be if I let you get off with questioning my judgment. Now, get some shoes on and get on that quinjet. I’ll see you shortly.”

Darcy winced, like she was expecting a talking to for failing to tell her boss that their boss was on the monitor. All Wanda could do was laugh ruefully before going to the elevator that JARVIS held for her. 

“Thank you, JARVIS, you’re my only friend.” 

“My pleasure, Agent Maximoff.”

The corridor leading to the landing pad was quiet, agents making their way to their terminals to handle this situation. This was the first real threat they’d faced, even if it was a few pirates that Fury was confident the Avengers could handle easily. Life wasn’t like it was in the comic books, with super scary scientists inventing killer robots of all shapes and sizes. Nor were there mutant animals running amok every night. No, life was usually about watching for situations just like this.

Heavy footfalls behind her gave Wanda pause, but Clint flew right past her, then stopped short. “Here,” he said, tossing a pair of boots to Wanda, which she caught in a telekinetic bubble in front of her. They were the same red boots designed for Steve’s old costume-like battle suit, which had since been redesigned by both Steve and Tony for actual comfort in real battle.

“What are these?” she asked.

“You wanted new boots, and you can’t go in the field barefoot, can you?” he said, before turning quietly back to the ramp and ran up into the Quinjet. Wanda ran into the jet and found a seat, to pull on the thoughtfully-included pair of socks from inside the boots and then to try and figure out how to secure them closed. It took all of about five minutes before Steve knelt to help Wanda fix her boots.

“Thank you, Steve,” she said. 

“We’re only in the air 25 minutes, we need to be prepared.” Steve’s crooked half smile gave Wanda a warm feeling. She smiled back to him.

But all too soon, they landed on the helicarrier and were ushered onto the bridge for a briefing, how many pirates, where they were believed to be from, and what the likelihood was of them actually killing everyone on the drilling platform.

“I believe they’ll do it,” Fury said.

“And we need to be very careful of all the surface oil around. One spark and everyone dies,” Steve informed them. “No sparks, so Thor and I are limited in how we can fight. Tony, your energy weapons, will they ignite the oil?”

Tony was already nodding before Steve stopped speaking. “Normally, I’d say I was our only hope, but this time we’re nixed. I set JARVIS on the system to lock it down, but he said they’ve taken the system offline and can’t get in. Can’t use my repulsors, I’ll set that place up like your next birthday cake, Cap. The 40-year coal mine fire Centralia, PA will look like a boy scout cookout.”

Steve glowered at Tony a moment, but then went on to look at Fury and Wanda. “I’m not sure how to proceed.”

“I do,” Fury said, turning to Wanda. “There’s a person here who is the most powerful super human on Earth. A person who can affect time itself. Yes, Phil told me. I’m pretty sure she can handle some oil, can’t you, Wanda?”

All eyes turned to her. This was one of her worst fears. Wanda was their only hope to hold back all the oil so the team could round up the pirates and rescue all of the hostages. Her head began to spin just thinking of calculations of weather, air speed, temperature, gallons of surface oil removed. All that energy to expend. Was it more than she had in her? With her age, she wasn’t as strong as she used to be. Fury had far more faith in her than she had in herself.

There was no time to deliberate any further as the helicarrier slowed and hovered over the platform that looked like it was deserted. 

Bruce looked up from a tablet and said, “The pumps are off, which is causing a pressure build up and it’s going to be a disaster, worse than blowing the whole thing up. So, we need to move.”

What could she do? What was the smartest way to use the energy she had while utilizing the entire team?

“I can remove the oil. I’ll pull it from the platform but I’ll need somewhere to put it. Is there an empty supertanker nearby?” She turned to Fury. The man knew her, knew her power, and he knew her limitations. Hopefully, he would have planned ahead for it.

“It will be here in half an hour, but I don’t know if we can wait until it arrives to get that oil out of the way. Can you get the oil and hold onto it that long?” 

And there was the real question. Did Wanda have the endurance to last throughout the fight until the tanker could arrive to collect the oil from her?

“Is there a time limit to the demands?” Steve asked.

Fury nodded. “They gave us an hour, we’ve been talking them down, so we have a little time, but we have to move. They start executing hostages, one every five minutes, so they said, but they didn’t say when. I don’t doubt they’ll do it.”

“So, credible threat, time running out. Wanda, there’s no math there. You have to get that oil out of there. If you can’t hold it, fine. Then put it back and we act more carefully.”

“No, you don’t understand,” Wanda pleaded. “If I can’t hold the oil, I can’t put it back. It will end up in the ocean and may kill thousands of life forms. And if the oil drifts, it could ruin the entire gulf fishing and ecosystem for longer than I can calculate.”

“Time is wasting,” Natasha reminded. “Think!”

“Red,” Clint said softly. “You can do this, I know.” He put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I believe in you.”

Wanda gave him a wan smile, but she nodded and looked to Fury. “I can do it. I need one thing, though. Natasha, may I have a knife please?”

One redhead to another, the knife was handed over.

“Thor, if you would be so kind as to kneel before me a moment, I have a need of something.” Wanda squared her shoulders. Thor just nodded and knelt, bowing his head. Wanda walked around behind him and grabbed each one of the epaulets and cut of the gathers of his cape away. Thor stood abruptly, angered by Wanda’s actions.

“What is the meaning of this, Lady Scarlet?” he demanded.

Wanda wasted no time in tying the cape around her shoulders. “I’m freezing,” she said. “I’m going to have to fly in a few moments. Your cape will regenerate when you need to fly.”

This of course was the truth and Thor only nodded in agreement before making his way to the door. He knew the layout of the helicarrier well and the rest of the team began following him towards the landing bay, where the non-flying members of the team boarded the quinjet again, while the three flying members of the team took off from the topside of the carrier.

Before exiting the bridge, Wanda looked at Fury and said, “Don’t tell my secrets. That’s for me to do when I’m ready.”

A beat went past before Fury gave her a conciliatory nod. “Ten-four, Agent Maximoff.”

Bruce would be staying behind on the helicarrier to monitor the platform pressure and structure. This was not a code green, and even if things went sideways, the Hulk could not possibly do more good than harm. Steve, Natasha and Clint would be going by parachute to the platform once the oil was removed. It was a very hastily-made plan. They had the plans for the platform and were reviewing them while the quinjet got into place, and went into stealth mode.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know how you like this. I need to know if I'm going in the right direction! Kudos and comments are love, thank you!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pirates don't know what's coming at them, but Wanda does. And Cap can't seem to find the parachutes!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my beta, Emyrld Lady. She keeps me at my best. This chapter was hard, as I'm shit with action scenes. But I hope you like it!

Wanda stood on the deck, just before lifting off, letting the wind take Thor’s cape up and away from her for a moment. Said god stepped up beside her and said, “Keep the garment, it suits you.”

The hammer swung out and into the sky leapt the golden god, followed by Tony in his gleaming metal suit. After a deep breath, Wanda took to the sky and began her descent to the platform, scanning in her mind for life forms. The comm button in her ear was full of agents talking, and she couldn’t tell where her team mates were.

“Darcy, clear this comm channel for Avenger team members only. All other chat comes through you. Find SHIELD another channel to quibble on, please.”

“You got it, bosslady,” Darcy answered and with the clicking of a few keys, the annoying chatter stopped. “Go Avengers on channel one, and anything else, I’ll filter.”

Wanda nodded, then smiled to herself, because Darcy couldn’t see her nod. “Ten-four, Darcy.”

She began a comprehensive scan of minds on the platform and all she saw was fear and dread. There were several hostages that were already resigned to die. Some were thinking about their families, wives and girlfriends. Her read glanced across the minds of a few of the pirates and she could tell from one, the leader she surmised, they were ready to kill the hostages.

Tony and Thor were hovering, waiting to start storming the rig, and the quinjet holding the other members of the team were watching for Wanda to start removing the oil to parachute down, or sans parachute in Steve’s case. This was an operation they’d practiced for, something they knew that could absolutely happen, but they were more prepared for a ship with large containers. This had been a target of pirates in the Indian and Atlantic oceans. There was no regular large shipping in the area of this platform, so this was a hit of opportunity, not a planned hijacking.

The spell started small, just some pink and red sparkles emitting from her fingers, swirling into the air. The energy flowed from Wanda’s arms and hands, and she carefully directed it towards the platform. It started slowly, and no one but Wanda could see the magic, but the oil began to shimmer. It took all of Wanda’s concentration to block out the minds of others, but in a swirl of energy, the oil covering every surface of the external parts of the platform began to rise. The energy flowed from Wanda’s arms and hands and down towards the platform, throughout the rigging and pipes, mingling with the surface oil that began to rise from the water in the unrelenting sunshine of the Gulf of Mexico. The waves seemed to go quiet; the ocean was assisting in the rescue. One more burst of power through her arms and hands and the oil was completely removed from all surfaces.

The spell was working, the oil was contained in a pink bubble of power. Wanda had to dig deep into her core for the power required to contain something so large, especially something shapeless like crude oil. Wanda blocked out all of the sounds, all of the chatter, the whine of Tony’s repulsors, and the explosions from Clint’s arrows. There was shouting and scuffling, screams of terror and some of pain, but Wanda was focused and held her place in the air at least 100 yards from the fighting.

The oil was mesmerizing. Colors shined in rainbows against the containment bubble, with the sun streaming down. All Wanda concentrated on was holding the oil in the air while facing the direction that the supertanker was coming from. All she needed to do was hang on until the supertanker arrived and then she could rest. Rest. That sounded nice. She could float in the water on her back, like she was taught once a long time ago. 

The first touch of water on her boot brought Wanda back to the present where she quickly sucked in her breath and pulled the bubble of oil from the surface of the water. Searching inward, she tried to find more power, more strength to contain the oil. What kind of mother would she be if she didn’t do everything in her power to keep the earth safe for her children?

Heat was the next thing that sunk in. Sunlight glaring off the water’s surface blinding her, sweat dripping down her cheeks and into her neckline. Maybe she should be wearing her SHIELD stealth suit, like Natasha always did. Were those boots always so heavy for Steve? No, she was back into the water, up to her knees by this point and she was slowly sinking faster, until two steel bands came around her and pulled her back up into the air. The repulsors were unmistakable, and for once Wanda was thankful for Tony’s impudence. He liked to stick his nose where it didn’t belong. This time was welcome.

“C’mon, Witchypoo, wake up there, that’s it. I’ll hold you up, you hold the oil up,” he crooned to her, metallic sounding through the mask speaker.

“The hostages…” she began to say, but the rest of the words tumbled from her mind and missed her mouth.

“Cap’s got that all wrapped up, princess,” he explained. “I thought you could use some help.”

“Thank you, but the tanker…”

“Almost here. You concentrate on the oil, I’ll fly you out to the tanker, and Barton is going to follow up with the Quinjet to scoop you up when we’re done.”

Wanda took a deep breath, and prepared her third wind. If she didn’t keep this oil off the ocean…she was repeating herself, and not making sense. This was exhaustion taking over. Without having to fly, Wanda was able to keep the oil contained and moved the bubble along with them as they flew towards the supertanker. But it was getting more and more difficult, even with the beautiful cool breeze on her face.

“I can’t…I can’t…”

“Yes, you can, Red,” came Clint’s voice over the comm, calm and strong. “You can do this. You have less that two klicks to go and then you’re there. The tanker is slowing so Tony will keep you steady. You’ll be fine, I promise. I’m waiting for you in the Quinjet.”

A deep breath and Wanda poured everything she had left into holding her bubble up and steady until she could see the deck below her and the entry pumps for the oil into the tanker. Then it was like a ballet as six streams of oil flowed down from the bubble into the pump openings until it was all safely ensconced in the tanker.

“Is it safe?” asked Wanda, just before she passed out. She missed the oil workers cheering for her in both English and Spanish, La Bruja Escarlata. She missed Tony handing her over to Clint, who laid her down on the fixed gurney in the Quinjet and slid an IV needle into her hand to start her fluids. Her clothes were completely soaked through with sweat, and he was afraid she’d go into shock. She wasn’t awake when she was taken from the Quinjet that just landed on the Helicarrier to sick bay and the Corpsmen and medics took over treating her for exhaustion and heat poisoning.

0o0o0

Darcy sat beside the hospital bed in the tower infirmary, just staring at her friend after four days, willing the tears not to fall, and failing. There were tubes everywhere. Fluids going in and coming out, oxygen, medicine, and anything else they need to get into her. Steve stood behind Darcy, rubbing her shoulders, a silent sentinel of peace and calmness. They’d taken turns keeping watch over Wanda, all of the Avengers. Clint was the first in line, but SHIELD business pulled him away. Darcy took up the watch when all of the Avengers were called out to stop a coup in a SHIELD-watched country, one that begged for the Avenger’s help. Steve had hated spending three days away, but he knew that Darcy would be half watching Wanda, half watching the fighting. It was her job to coordinate since Wanda wasn’t able.

When he wasn’t working to rid the world of terrorism and crime, Steve sat beside Darcy, or forced her to eat. Or forced her to take a shower and get some sleep. He began to worry about her because he could see the toll it was taking on her. And something else that was bothering him was where her brother and sons were? Did they even know she was close to comatose? 

Steve went into his office on his SHIELD floor and slammed the door closed, making the agents at the cubes outside all jump. The entire floor was usually pretty quiet, but it went completely silent. Captain Rogers, as they all referred to him, was usually very quiet himself. But slamming a door, that was definitely something different for him.

Before Steve knew it, the phone was in his hand and he was dialing Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters in Westchester, hoping someone intelligent would pick up the phone. 

“Hello?” came the gruff answer.

"Hello, this is Captain Steve Rogers of SHIELD. I’d like to speak to Pietro Maximoff, please.”

There was a bark of a laugh on the other end. “Sure, Bub, Captain America callin’ a boardin’ school for the gym teacher. Try again, pal.”

Steve’s patience was beginning to wane, but ever the gentleman, he took a deep breath and quietly said, “Tell Mr. Maximoff that his sister is very ill and needs her family by her.”

The hang up wasn’t the slam of the receiver that Steve wanted to do, but he made his point because when he went back to Wanda’s room, Darcy was sitting beside the blond man, quietly watching over the woman. 

“Thank you for calling me,” Pietro said to Steve, then bumped his shoulder on Darcy’s.

“I know, I should have called,” Darcy admitted. “I know she’ll be OK, so I didn’t want to upset you or the boys.”

“Darcy, where my sister is concerned, upset me, every time.” Pietro didn’t take his eyes from the prone form.

After waiting a few moments, in respect, Steve left the two to sit with Wanda in her infirmary room. Pleased with his personal involvement being concluded, Steve went back to his suite to art studio and pulled out a fresh sheet of drawing paper and sat at his drawing table.

As the sun was going down, there was soft knock on Steve’s suite door. He padded on bare feet from his studio into living room, leaving his watercolor picture to dry. The sunset colors from his studio were always so brilliant, he needed to capture them and there was never any time like the present.

It didn’t surprise Steve to see Darcy standing at his door, still crying, and holding her arms out to hug him. He took her into his arms, pulling her tightly against him while he kicked the door shut. He walked her to the couch and sat with her letting Darcy cry more until she was calm again. A few silent moments went by before Steve asked, “Can I get you anything?”

“No, I’m fine. I will be. She’s still out. It’s just seeing her there…”

“Reminds you of your mother?” Steve said.

All Darcy could do was nod in return, which set her off crying again. Darcy had sat with her mother through four rounds of chemo before breast cancer took her when Darcy was sixteen. Wanda reminded Darcy of her mother and when the woman exhausted herself in the manner she had, it affected Darcy deeply.

“I should call my dad, huh?” she said, sitting up and wiping her eyes. Steve just nodded and kissed her forehead.

“Wanna call from here or your place?”

“Tomorrow,” she answered. “Tonight, let’s go to bed and do things I can’t tell him, OK?”

Steve just smiled and kissed her forehead again before scooping her up to carry her to his room. Maybe they would make love. Maybe they would just hold each other and talk deep into the night. Either way, Steve would take care of his girl.

0o0o0

Eight days. It was eight days from when Wanda collapsed to when she began waking from her near-coma. From the helicarrier to the tower infirmary, and four days before Avengers were called away for the coup, three days for the coup before Steve called Pietro. Darcy and Pietro took turns sitting with her, when they weren’t sleeping or showering. They ate together at her bedside, talking to each other and her the whole time.

“Shhhh, some people are trying to sleep,” she said, before she’d even gotten her eyes open. Darcy was kneeling by her side while Pietro went for a doctor, and the little brunette was a welcome sight for Wanda.

“How long have I been here?” she asked.

“Eight days, sister, and I’ve been here the whole time.” Pietro knelt by her bedside, holding her hand.

“I’m sure. Darcy, you don’t have to stay.”

“I want to,” came the quiet response, but out of respect for Wanda’s brother, Darcy stood and said, “I’ll come back later, though, and I’ll bring Steve. He’s anxious to see you. Clint too.”

“No, please, I must look a fright.”

“Wanda, your friends don’t care what you look like,” Pietro chastised.

“I care what I look like, Pietro,” she chastised back.

“I’ll tell them to wait until you’re back in your room,” Darcy said, and then left the twins talking to each other in their dialect of Russian that even escaped Natasha’s vast knowledge.

As Darcy walked, she sent a group text to the team alerting them to Wanda’s condition. She was happy her boss had woken. They’d talked once, and Wanda admitted when she didn’t prepare herself properly, using her strength over time to weave a powerful spell, unlike the one that keeps the gray out of her hair, it tended to exhaust her. The size of the spell would equal her exhaustion.

It took another week of Wanda in her suite resting and being annoyed by her brother’s constant presence before she dressed and excused herself to check on Loki, who had taken to spending time in Tony’s library. He would select a tome, then hide in an armchair in the corner of the room, reading the days away. Wanda didn’t know if it was refreshing that he wasn’t keeping up with the Kardashians, or watching mindless slasher films, which he found an affinity for when confined to his suite.

“What has your attention today?” Wanda asked, alerting Loki to her presence. After his breakdown when he admitted to knowing the plans of Thanos, Loki had become a bit jumpy and nervous around others. He didn’t want to leave the tower on his own and took his meals alone in his room.

But he slowly turned to Wanda who gracefully made her way towards him. “I am reading ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ which I’ve learned from the internet is a classic Midgardian tale. It’s a bit dull, if you ask me.”

This made Wanda smile as she sat in a chair beside him. “A lot of our older tales seem boring to someone who’s used to battle and magic, I imagine. But we still read them for their artistic value.”

“By Asgardian standards, there is no artistic value,” he scoffed before closing the book with a flourish and she could swear dust erupted from it.

“How are you faring this time?” Loki asked with feigned disinterest. “I swear,” he continued without waiting for her to answer, “you may kill yourself one of these days trying to help these pathetic creatures. They don’t even have the decency to reward you with jewels or gold. Just a nod and week in a healing bed. Unbelievable.”

This made Wanda smile. “You are concerned about me,” she said.

“Of course, I am! You’re the only reason the Midgardians haven’t killed me on sight. If something should happen to you, what do you think would happen to me? I am mortal, now. Surely, that archer would put one of his arrows through my skull if you didn’t protect me.”  
This was something Wanda knew was true. Clint would love to kill Loki on sight should Wanda not be alive to protect him.

“I…oh, never mind.”

“No, Loki, tell me. What were you going to say?” Wanda sat forward in her chair and reached out to take the book from his hands. “Please, you can trust me.”

“Last night, he came for me in my dreams.”

There was a beat of silence before Wanda asked, “Who?”

“Thanos, of course. Yes, came for ME, Loki, prince of Asgard, taunted me, called me mortal scum, human fodder, promised I would die along with you all so he could court his Lady Love, Mistress Death.”

“I believe you. I would be scared as well. But you’re safe now.”

Loki remained silent at that. After a few more moments of silence, Wanda retired to her room, seriously thinking about the spare heir of Asgard. He completely spaced out, no pun intended. He was growing distant since his use seemed to be at nil. Did he think that because he had given them all of the information that he knew about Thanos that they would execute him? This was something Wanda would have to discuss with Steve and Tony. They seemed to equally lead the Avengers. Steve used his strategic brain while Tony used his technical genius to equip the team with weapons and protection not even SHIELD could invent.

“JARVIS?” called out Wanda from the vestibule outside the library.

“Yes, Ms. Maximoff?” came the clipped AI response.

“Where are Tony and Captain Rogers right now?”

“Sir is in his workshop, repairing a bow for Agent Barton. Captain Rogers is in the gym, currently working over his third heavy bag.”

“Thank you, JARVIS.”

Wanda would start with Steve. He had a cooler head. Considering Loki also attempted to murder Tony, maybe they should present a united front to the billionaire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos are nice, so are comments, and thank you for reading!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team conversations have to happen sometime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you kindly, Emyrldlady for the fast beta. This is a short chapter, but the action is going to happen, and that's going to be big chapter!

Right, left, right, left. The punches flew from Steve’s body, his arms a blur of activity. Wanda stood in the doorway watching, hoping Steve didn’t know she was there. But one can never underestimate the hearing of a super soldier.

“You gonna just stare? Or say something?” Steve asked, dropping his arms and turning towards Wanda. Red-faced, with his t-shirt clinging to his chest with sweat, Steve began unwinding the tape from his hands.

“I need your help.” Simple, and the truth.

“With?” Steve was unusually curt with her on this day, which troubled Wanda.

“Loki. I’m afraid he’s becoming despondent. And when Thanos eventually comes, we’ll need his help. We will need his expertise having dealt with the…entity. I refuse to call him a god.”

Steve sat and lifted a bottle of cold water to his mouth. He took a deep breath and looked back up at Wanda.

“You’re right. Sorry, my temper is up a little. I was dealing with Tony and he always knows how to press my buttons. I wanted to see if there was a lighter weight material for my suit, something that will move easier, and he turned it into the most disgusting…”

“Would he be Tony if he didn’t push your buttons?” she asked gently, and put her hand on his shoulder. “You know better than to play his game.”

“He starts talking about Darcy. I can’t handle that. I won’t let him say those things about her.”

“I’ll talk to him about that. You help me talk to him about Loki. After a shower.”

“I’ll come to your room and then we’ll go find him.”

When the pair finally found Tony in his workshop, working on one of his hotrods, Wanda could tell it wouldn’t be easy.”

“Well, Witchypoo and the Cap. What did I do this time?” Tony asked, setting the adversarial tone.

“Nothing, Tony, we need to talk about Loki.”

“Right, because I want to talk about the big, fat pink elephant in the room. No thanks, I’m out.”

Tony turned to the door and began walking but Steve intercepted him, stepping in front of the older man. “Not so fast. We need to talk.”

Both men faced off in the middle of the room. Tony’s arm shot out to knock Steve’s hand from his shoulder. “Don’t touch me. Not unless you’re prepared to go through with it.”

“With what?” Steve asked. Big mistake.

“Oh, whatever your little heart desires,” Tony cooed at Steve, blowing a kiss to add insult to injury. Steve just took a deep breath and stared Tony down.

“Boys, can we get back to the topic at hand?” Wanda interrupted. “We need to bring Loki onto the team, include him in meetings.”

Both men turned quickly towards her, with Tony saying, “Are you fucking serious?” as Steve said, “Over my dead body.”

“Yes, I’m fucking serious, and Steve, you’re remarkably difficult to kill.”

“We never discussed bringing him on the team,” Steve stated.

“And did we forget, he tried to take over the planet? Um, he threw me off of my own building. Yeah, not really feeling the trust there.” Tony gave the response Wanda was expecting.

“No, but how else will we gain his trust? Just getting information is one thing. Getting help to stop Thanos…to kill him, that’s quite another. We will need Loki’s assistance. We will most likely need all of Asgard’s assistance, as well as any hero or mutant that wants to join the fight.”

“You think this will that difficult?” Steve asked. “We’ve taken on space armies before.”

“This isn’t a space army, Captain. This is…an ancient and powerful being. He plans to exterminate all life on this planet. Anything that can do that, are you sure six Avengers is all we need?”

“There’s Rhodey,” Tony suggested. “He can help.”

“I’ve thought of that. I plan on requesting to seconder Colonel Rhodes until the threat is neutralized. Tony, you can work on his suit to make it as powerful as possible.”

There was silence for a few moments until Tony clapped his hands together, rubbing them like a child expecting a toy. “Good! I wanted to see what the air force did to my old suit. Fine, bring the little weasel to the next meeting, see if he has any ideas on how to take down the big bad wolf.”

With that, Tony went back to his hot rod, effectively dismissing Steve and Wanda, but neither left. Wanda stood still staring at Steve, one question for him.

“Are you also willing to welcome Loki into meetings and onto the team so we can defeat Thanos?”

Another deep breath left Steve staring at the floor, thinking. He shook his head briefly, but said, “Yes, we will include him as a team member, but with a pin in it.”

“A pin?” Wanda asked.

“He’s for information and planning only. He’s not needed in the field, if or when this threat is realized. He’s mortal now. He doesn’t have any special skills like Clint or Natasha. He’s like you, or Darcy. Office team only.”

“I’m a little more than the office team, Steve.”

“True, but Loki isn’t.”

With these conditions, Wanda considered the conversation a win.

0o0o0

The door to Loki’s suite loomed in front of Wanda, and she was hesitant to enter. The conversation she would need to have with Loki would be awkward, if not excruciating. Loki would scoff at her, he would mock her request and then refuse outright to be part of any team, as being beneath the royalty of Asgard. Wanda would entreat him, cajole and beseech him to be on her team, to help save the human race and all the creatures of Earth which was his newly adopted planet. And back and forth they would go until finally, Loki would deign to lower himself and be on the team.

Reality was quite another story. Loki opened the door, surprising Wanda and stood just looking at her.

“Well, well, well, it’s about time you showed up. I’ve only been requesting your presence with your voice in the wall for over an hour. Granted, an hour is no time in the life of a god, but really, to keep royalty waiting.”

It was Loki’s usual fashion of considering himself above all.

“Yes, Loki, I’m sorry. I was involved with several things. How can I help you?” Wanda asked, hurrying through his open door to follow him into the suite.

“He’s coming.”

0o0o0


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're finding out more about who's coming!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Emyrldlady for the beta. I'm trying to get this written before the story it was supposed to supplant gets released. You'll see, it's pretty darned...I hope it's good.

“What do you mean, ‘he’s coming’?” asked Wanda, stopping dead in her tracks in the well-appointed sitting room.

Loki walked to the window overlooking the north side of Manhattan. “I can feel him. He is coming, he is angry. Can’t you feel it? The tension in space. The air is thick.”

Being a psychic mutant, Wanda could feel many things. Being a woman and mother, she could definitely feel other things, in other people. What Loki was mentioning was far beyond her scope of emotional reaches.

“You are more sensitive than I am, your highness, because I don’t feel anything, but I believe you. Do you have any idea how close he is?”

“Not close, there’s time, but he’s coming.”

Loki sat in a large, overstuffed chair and looked small. He looked as he probably did when he was a child, sneaking a seat on the royal throne. He wore a green silk sweater and black slacks with shiny black shoes, all the hallmarks of a refined human, but the fear in his eyes was other worldly. He knew this fear deep in his bones, knew how Thanos would torture him again, and because he was human now, Loki might not survive.

“Can you look at a hologram of the solar system and see where he may be coming from, a guess?”

“Not yet,” Loki barely whispered, staring into space. Wanda was becoming concerned.

“Loki, you’re not well. I’d like Doctor Banner to look at you, if you don’t mind. Your color is…draining.”

“Leave me, please. I need to be alone.” Loki waved a hand, ever the royal, dismissing Wanda like a servant. But she did leave, giving him his space. While he may be human, he was still a man, and they needed to appear strong, at all times.

Taking this time to alert the team, Wanda called an impromptu team meeting, with special guests, in the conference room on the SHIELD floor in Avengers tower. She even told Loki where they would be, hoping he would make an appearance. Work always stopped when the Avengers filed through, even though Strike Team Delta, Clint and Natasha, were a usual fixture on the floor. When the Captain walked through, there were plenty of sighs and smiles, which were quickly hidden when Darcy followed up behind him. While there may have been love for the Captain, Darcy’s reputation for destructive pranks on anyone who got too “familiar” with the Captain was well known.

“OK, kids, this is the day I dreaded,” began Wanda, closing the heavy glass door. “JARVIS, please frost the glass, I can’t have anyone seeing or hearing what goes on in here today.”

“With pleasure, Agent Maximoff,” JARVIS affirmed. While the light stayed bright, the walls became a cloudy white, and the staring eyes of all the SHIELD agents disappeared.

There was a jiggling of the glass door before it was swung open by JARVIS and a distracted Jane Foster walked into the conference room, writing on a pad that was already covered in notes for her new interns to decrypt.

“Why am I here?” Jane demanded, slamming the pad and pen on the heavy obsidian table. “I have things I’m tracking in space, an anomaly that I can’t…”

Wanda held up her hand. “Today is the day I hoped to never have, Jane. I have to bring you in to track Thanos.”

“What’s a Thanos?” Jane inquired, distracted again by notes she made, and sat in the empty chair before her to start scribbling math equations. “Oh, wait, big purple guy, floating in a chair, Loki’s Thanos, got it.” Thor trailed behind her, working on a tablet, and was uncharacteristically quiet.

Just then, the last missing member of the Avengers’ team, Tony, swooshed in and stood by the door.

“I’m working, this had better be good.” He didn’t walk towards a chair, only folding his arms across his chest to pout as he stood by the door.

“Thanos is coming. Loki said he can feel it.” As she feared, this prompted groans and sighs from the team, mutterings of “that idiot doesn’t know if HE’S coming or going” from Clint. They started to rise from their chairs.

“No, I believe him,” Wanda confessed. “He was pale as a ghost. He is serious. Thanos is coming and we need to start working with him to track the…entity and anything he’s bringing with him.”

“AnyTHING?” Tony asked, walking closer to Wanda.

“Chitauri?” Steve asked, eyebrows going up.

“The Chitauri? Again?” Clint questioned. “We had enough trouble the first time. We defeated them. Why would he try with those…what the hell were they…cyborgs? We’ll just destroy their control ship like Stark did before and then he’ll be on his own.”

“Yes, of course, I’ll just grab another nuke midair and direct it through a hole in space I nearly got caught in. Sure, that was fun the first time.”

“He believes the failure is mine, not the Chitauri,” Loki interrupted, sweeping into the room. Wanda had hoped he would join the meeting. “A foolish general will use the same army to achieve what he thought another general could not.”

“The definition of insanity is performing the same actions and expecting a different outcome,” Bruce piped up. “If Thanos is as bad as you say, he’ll try and do the same thing, and we can be ready for him.”

“He’s not called the Mad Titan for nothing,” Loki revealed.

“Evacuate the city, have fighter jets and drones on standby to combat those gliders,” Steve opened, his brain beginning to plan the attack from a military stand point.

“I can design new suits for everyone that with-stand blasts from those Chitauri staff weapons,” Tony proclaimed.

“Good,” Wanda declared, clapping her hands together to call an end to the meeting. “I want everyone working together. Jane, I would like very much if you would work with Loki and Thor to start tracking anything anomalous in space, anything that could be an army on its way. We’ll need as much lead time to make people safe as possible. Tony, suits and armor and weapons, I don’t need to tell you…” But Tony had already left the room. Wanda shook her head; a wry smile crossed her face.

“Steve, start working with the military to help with evacuations when the time comes, also the air support you mentioned. Bruce, I want you working on the biology of those things. Maybe a chemical weapon we could use that won’t hurt humans, or better poison bullets, something or anything about them that we can use against them.”

“I don’t feel comfortable doing something so destructive to a life form,” Bruce professed.

“So then I can count on the Big Guy to just come out and smash? No brains allowed?” There was a glint in Wanda’s eye and Bruce knew it. Brains over brawn or both.

“I’ll see what I can discover in the time we have.” Bruce grabbed his own pad of notes and left the room.

“What about us?” Clint asked, looking over at a particularly silent Natasha.

“You, my loves, are coordinating SHIELD forces with the military, with Captain Rogers. You, Strike Team Delta, are hitting clean up. I want you to confirm with SHIELD that when we defeat the Chitauri, and kill Thanos, that we’re done.”

“Who is going to keep Jane informed of what’s going on with everything, and then get her information to the military and SHIELD?” Darcy asked, finally interrupting with her own inquiries. Wanda just looked at her.

“Me? Back to being an intern?” Darcy fairly squeaked.

“You’re still an agent, Darcy. You’re just going to liaise between Jane, SHIELD, and Captain Rogers with the military. You’re going to be the hub of information to coordinate.”

“So, business as usual,” Darcy said, typing into her StarkPad to open a database protocol to keep her departments straight with everything needed to defend Earth.

0o0o0

Later that day, Darcy was washing a dish in her kitchen. Steve cooked them a delicious meal of spicy tuna burgers and sweet potato fries, when an idea hit her and she dropped the dish, shattering it across the floor. The thump of Steve’s feet from the living room as he came quickly to see what happened brought her to the present.

“Wait a minute, how do we know the Chitauri will attack New York again?” she asked. “What if Thanos attacks Paris, or Hong Kong, or the Gobi Desert?!”

“Darcy, what are you talking about?” Steve asked, grabbing her by the shoulders to lead her away from the broken dish pieces.

“I mean, how do we know Thanos will come back to the same place? Jane can track him to the planet, but his planet-fall can be anywhere. He can go back to the desert where Thor fell, attracted to the residual radiation of the rainbow bridge activity. Or he could be attracted to a nuclear power plant, and land there. What’s to say he doesn’t start a nuclear meltdown that destroys this planet without lifting a fucking finger, dude?” Darcy’s breathing started coming heavier, as if she couldn’t control it.

“OK,” Steve soothed, “I get it, there’s a lot of planning we need to do. But Jane hasn’t found so much as a blip. And I thought of all these things before, with SHIELD, who will be coordinating with the UN. I’m going to handle it. And we’re going to protect all potential catastrophic sites. I promise you, it’s going to be OK. I’m going to protect you, Darcy. I swear.”

Arms like steel bands went around Darcy, strong but not strangling. Large hands stroked her back and her hair, and the softest lips she knew were pressed against her cheek as Steve murmured words of comfort against her warm skin. Darcy felt the gentle lead from Steve into the living room where he sat her on the couch and knelt down in front of her.

“You gonna be OK?” he asked. He searched her eyes, hoping to see a bit of understanding, but all he could see were tears coming. Steve feared it was PTSD from her time in New Mexico and Darcy was beginning to hyperventilate. Steve took her face in his hands and tried to calm her. Throughout the night, they talked while Steve held Darcy, not too tightly, and by the time the rosy dawn peeked through the windows, Steve carried a sleeping Darcy to their bed.

0o0o0

For the next month, the entire world worked together tirelessly to use everything at their disposal to collaborate and come to a consensus on how to act. And in pure self-interest, each country represented in the UN unanimously opted to let the Avengers run the plays. Steve sat in the final general meeting with the representatives, and Steve took a deep, steadying breath. Somewhere, inside, he knew this was going to happen. For one reason, it was better this way. Steve could hand pick his team, and control the action. Too many cooks spoil the soup.

But then the entire blame, should it all go to hell, would be on Steve’s shoulders, exclusively. And being the man he was, Steve would take it. He would stand before the world powers and say, “I’m the man who screwed up.” No matter how many countries and continents were involved in the war to save Earth, it would all come down to Steve Rogers, one man who called all the shots.

“Can you do this?” Darcy asked, curling beside Steve in bed one night when he snuck away from a planning session to get a little rest. Of course, instead of resting, they made love. 

“Are you questioning my strategic acuity or my lovemaking skills?” he inquired, nuzzling into Darcy’s neck. This always tickled her, and it did this time as well, but she pulled away before the giggles took over.

“Steve, I’m serious. Is this killing you? Are you…is this too much for you, coordinating the planet to…”

“Shhhh, stop, sweetness, right there,” he murmured before kissing her quiet. Darcy lay back against the pillows and stared up at Steve, who sat up, pulling the covers into his lap. He leaned over and turned the bedside light on and turned to his lover. “When I was fighting the Nazis…”

“Oh, here we go again, old man old timey stories…” she said before pulling the covers up over her head.

“Stop it, Darcy, now listen. Look, when I was fighting the Nazis with the Howling Commandos, we coordinated hundreds of soldiers, planes, tanks, and infantry with just radios and wind talkers.”

“The Navajo wind talkers?” she asked, sitting up. Darcy, while being a poly-sci major had minored in history.

“Wonderful guys. Really turned the tide of the war when the Germans and Japanese couldn’t figure out the language. But my point is, we got the entire continent of Europe coordinated with one one-hundredth of the technology we have today. I am positive this is going to work out. I am one hundred and fifty percent certain the world will do what they can to help. And I promise you, when this is all over…”

“Don’t even think about proposing to me, Rogers. It’ll be fake because you’ll still be on the win-high and it’ll be bullshit,” Darcy babbled turning away from Steve, who reached out and grabbed her, pulling her body to his. Those iron band arms held her, but Darcy only smiled up at him.

“I will do something awesome, I promise you,” Steve swore to her, and captured her mouth in a searing kiss that left Darcy reeling. Just as he went in for the second kiss, his phone began to buzz on the bedside table. They were calling him.

“Get it, it could be important,” Darcy said, earnestly and without a bit of disappointment. He loved that about her, that she understood. She got it, as they said.

And it was the war room calling him. The SHIELD floor had been transformed to the communications and strategic hub of the planning for the invasion. All non-essential personnel were moved to a large building in Washington, DC, out of the way.

What surprised them both was the buzzing of Darcy’s phone, where SHIELD was calling her. Both of them jumped out of bed and began dressing quickly. If both were needed, it most likely meant one thing. Jane found something.

0o0o0

Darcy knew exactly where to go, and not to the SHILED hub. “JARVIS, please take us to Jane’s floor, her lab,” she called out to the elevator. Steve stood beside her and nodded, knowing she was right. It was useless to go to the SHIELD floor when Jane had the information.

On Jane’s lab floor, they took to a run to her door where she stood before a star map that was spread on the floor. She pointed to one of many spots on the map. “There,” was all she stated.

“Dr. Foster,” Steve commanded in his patented Captain America voice, “what am I looking at?”

“That spot shouldn’t be there,” she gushed, smiling, pulling her hair away from her face. She wore clothes that were days old, she hadn’t showered and who knew when she last ate. But she couldn’t have been happier pointing to the map. Not even having Thor beside her, helping interpret the star maps when he wasn’t training with the Avengers, kept her from Science!

“Which spot, Jane?” Darcy inquired, going to where Jane stood, grabbing a red marker from her old desk. She pressed the marker into Jane’s hand and of course, Jane was on the floor, on the map, circling a miniscule dot, barely big enough to be seen unless you were directly over it. Super Soldier vision caught it right away, but Darcy stood back squinting.

“That spot shouldn’t be there. It just showed up. It’s him, I’ll bet my Ph.Ds on it, that it’s him. I’ll bet my Nobel nomination on it. That is Thanos and he’s on his way here.”

The silence thundered through the room as Jane’s last word died. Thanos was here.

Things went into hyper-speed after that meeting with Jane. Steve and Darcy made their way to the communications hub and sent for more astrophysicists to help Jane coordinate her information and relay it to the war room, the room where Darcy would sit at a station of massive computer monitors, one the size of a 32” television, and begin sending the right information to the correct parties. It shocked her to see all the major powers of the world following the World Security Council’s orders, even Russia and China were following directives on how to prepare.

Steve was relying heavily on the sifted information coming from Darcy as it came from Jane, and yes, it seemed that Thanos was coming straight to where Loki had come through with the Chitauri the last time, straight to New York. Loki had been right: a foolish general blaming the last commander and not seeing that it was the enemy that had defeated the army.

Coordinating with other countries proved to be the smartest thing ever suggested. Because of their secrecy, China had begun modifying plans given to them for a Quinjet to fly into orbit. Using Stark technology, arc reactors and repulsor thrusters, they were making it into orbit around the planet and back through the atmosphere without so much as a crack in the windshield. It was by far the greatest gift of technology to the world by a major power so far. Being lauded so generously would hopefully ensure that China would send the ships, planes and modified Quinjets when Thanos made planetfall.

Because Thanos would likely make his way to New York, the American president began a mass exodus of the population of the city. The evacuation of New York began in an orderly manner, people being moved from the city center first, then as those were settled in other cities, the outer boroughs were then resettled in other cities as well. People were allowed to bring their pets, as well, because Darcy made it a sticking point that she knew for a fact people would stay behind because they couldn’t take their dogs and cats and birds and fish and whatever with them. She remembered when she helped evacuate Puente Antiguo, and people so blithely ignored the pet store. She hadn’t and she thought of Baxter often.

One afternoon, while sending coordinates to Russia, China, and a few of the European nations, Steve entered the war room, wearing a brand-new suit made from…something Darcy had never seen before. It was mostly blue, with hints of red and of course the big signature star in the middle. His shield had been repainted in similarly subdued shades, which he held in one hand and his helmet and cowl in the other.

“What do you think?” he asked. All of the SHIELD agents stopped what they were doing and looked on, stunned to see the Captain in his suit in their presence. One woman at the back of the room looked at Darcy and mouthed “thank you” across the space.

“Is this the new uniform? The one that will withstand Chitauri staff blasts?” she asked, walking to where Steve stood, holding his arms out. On his right side, there was a telltale smear of blackened fabric. Darcy reached out to touch it before hauling back and punching Steve in the arm, and then regretting it in the pain. She doubted he even felt it. “You let Stark shoot you? You asshole! He could have killed you!”

“No, Darce, I’m fine, really!” Steve explained hastily, taking hold of her hand and gently kissing the reddened knuckles. “He’d been testing it on dummies and we deemed it safe long before I took a blast. I wanted to see if there was any physical dampening of the actual blast. And no, it’ll still send me reeling, but I won’t get more than a bruise. Not like the last time…”

“What last time? What happened? Who shot you?” Darcy grabbed at Steve’s shoulders trying to shake him. She completely ignored the rest of the silent agents in the room, desperate to find out what Steve and Tony had been doing. 

“The last time the Chitauri were here. Before I met you. When I was in that…costume that Coulson designed…” Steve stopped there, remembering the agent was a hero himself, and took Loki’s staff to his chest for his troubles. Only with the intervention of Asgard did he survive.

“So, Tony wasn’t happily blasting away at you?” she asked. 

“No, he didn’t want to shoot me. He knew I would get thrown a little, and was reluctant actually. He was afraid that if he shot me…you’d shoot him.” Steve smiled down at her, his half smile of cocky arrogance. Only arrogant of his abilities.

“I would, too. Shoot him in the dick,” she said, falling into Steve’s arms, then quickly pulling away. Both remembered their surroundings and looked around at the agents, who quickly began their work again, after the prolonged scene. “OK, well, it’s a good look for you. And I’m glad it will take a staff blast. Just make sure your helmet is on when they make planet fall.”

“I promise,” he said, nodding, then turning to leave the room.

0o0o0

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please tell me what you think of this chapter. I'm trying to write as fast as I can!


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And it starts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the culminating chapter that I've been waiting to write and publish for 5 long years. We're almost done, kids. I hope you enjoyed the ride. Thank you, as always, to Emyrldlady for her amazing beta. I would be a shit writer without her working me. Enjoy!

It started on a Tuesday. Darcy had gotten up early, dressed in her SHIELD gear, hating to Hell having to wear a catsuit while on duty, but if she planned to stay in Avengers Tower when the action started, Steve wanted her in tactical clothing she could fight in, or easily escape the building. Thor also promised to keep an eye on the building if the fighting got too close.

“Miss Lewis, the red alert has been issued from SHIELD. It appears that Thanos has reached the outer edges of our solar system. Planet fall seems imminent.”

JARVIS’ words made Darcy’s blood run cold. She made quickly for the utility belt she had Tony make for her, with a new, smaller taser and plenty of magazines for her sidearm. She zipped her boots in record time and ran for the elevator that JARVIS held for her as she tied up her hair in a tight bun. No more messy twists. She was in charge of a battery of agents. She needed to be an example. That’s what Steve told her: lead by example and everyone will follow.

Behind her, Steve ran into the war room, grabbed Darcy by the shoulders and kissed her. “You stay indoors or if the tower is compromised, you get underground. I should have sent you to DC to coordinate this…” he said, before Darcy threw her arms around his neck, pulling his face down to hers.

“Come back to me alive, OK? I don’t care if you’re missing a limb, or your face is melted off. Just come back to me.” They kissed again and Steve left a worried Darcy, and many agape agents, in the war room to watch his retreat.

Wanda came striding in wearing a custom cat suit, not black but red. She looked at Darcy, who had been controlling the information during all the time she was working with Loki, talking, getting more and more information about the Mad Titan. Loki was a font of knowledge when he allowed himself to let go. Wanda captured every word Loki spoke, about how Thanos spoke, how he thought, how he commanded. Then she would watch the video that JARVIS took over and over on her tablet at night, memorizing every word Loki said.

And Loki was adamant: Thanos wanted to extinguish all life in the universe to court the embodiment of Death, the love of his life. And he was planning to start with Earth, for some crazy reason. He was headed to the same place Loki entered, New York City. And the Avengers were ready.

“Where is Thanos?” was all Wanda could say to Darcy.

“Outer solar system,” Darcy responded. “He’ll make planetfall by Thursday, at the speed he’s going. Jane and Thor confirmed it. He’s been checking with her these last few weeks.”

“Thor? In a lab? I’m shocked. I’m sure he would have been with Tony and Steve training.”

Darcy nodded without looking away from her monitors. “Thor in a lab. I caught him napping on a desk while Jane was working away. It was adorbz.” 

Wanda smiled down at her. Even while coordinating forces around the world, she was making jokes. Maybe it wasn’t the best time, but it was a tension breaker and her team visibly relaxed.

Wanda settled into the war room and watched the sky, like everyone else on the planet. All television channels were full of talking heads going over the little information that had been released. All military entities agreed that giving full disclosure of the amount of firepower coming their way was a mistake. But the information they did give was enough to keep the news hounds talking for two days, and then, it began.

After two days with little food and less sleep, the first inklings of the magnitude of the army coming reached Wanda’s senses. Still out past Mars, she could feel the seething hatred pouring from Thanos’ mind. It nearly overwhelmed her, which bode badly for her ability in this fight. But she had magic in her, part of her very core. Her probability magic could hex the fight, swinging things in favor of the Avengers, and Earth’s fighters.

It was a satellite image that stunned Wanda, two ships only. Thanos had only brought two ships with him. Did he think it would be so easy to defeat the earth with only one extra ship? Of course, he only sent one with Loki, but it meant that the modified Quinjets would have to do battle with both in space. Were they capable of that kind of destruction? Wanda could only hope.

Down on the Earth’s surface, Captain America began speaking rapidly into his comm unit, relaying commands and coordinates for drones to be readied to fight the gliders that were coming as well as the giant space whales that carried the soldiers.

Wanda looked over to where Darcy sat, sending information to different teams, like Thor with the Quinjets, because a god could fight in space, Dr. Banner with Tony making last minute adjustments to equipment, Jane still working to track the large blip on her screen, Hawkeye and Black Widow gearing up for fights on the ground, as well as keeping an eye on the Captain, who was prepared to start punching anything that came near him. He rechecked his shield and the electromagnetic recall strap one last time before his super soldier vision saw the first of the space whales and gliders to come down into the atmosphere.

The Captain checked his comms, making sure the teams of elite fighters from the other countries were all on the same channel. Many countries had sent their soldiers to help in the ground fight, if they hadn’t sent drones or planes.

“OK, world, it’s showtime!” And the fight began.

“JARVIS, promise me that if anything happens to the tower, you’ll let me know so I can get my team down into the bunker, ok?” Darcy asked the ceiling.

“I would suggest going down now, Miss Lewis. It seems that more than a hundred Chitauri gliders have been dispatched to the city and the fighting is coming ever closer to us.”

“You heard the ceiling, people!” Darcy shouted to her sparse team. She’d sent as many agents as she could to satellite offices outside the city, but the few that needed to stay were agents she knew she could count on to stay focused in the fight. “Grab your tablets and let’s get to the bunker.” Wanda led the team out of the room to the stairs.

The bunker was just that; an underground space, below all parking and utilities and even the subway. Tony Stark built it after the first Battle of New York to keep Pepper safe, but let the rest of the Avengers in on the secret. He all but ordered Pepper to Malibu, where he had another bunker for her, and she was currently ensconced there. Darcy promised Steve she would get underground if the fighting began to compromise the tower, but she thought about the safety of her team first. They could control information well enough from the bunker.

When the first glider hit the tower, Steve shouted for Darcy, who broke through comms and said, “I’m fine, Captain. We’re underground as ordered. I believe the tower is empty. Carry on.”

Carry on he did, listening for reports of ground Chitauri troops and mobilizing to fight with other SHIELD agents who carried modified weapons. CCTV cameras in the area gave Darcy a view of the shield being thrown around with great abandon. Chitauri fell like dominoes. The Hulk had been summoned to start tearing down the space whales, as he was the only one who could handle something so big with so many teeth. Thor was atop Avengers tower, conducting lightning to zap gliders out of the sky alongside the drones sent by the Airforce. It was determined he could help more there than in space with the Quinjets. Iron Man and War Machine gave the assist to the Hulk, working on the space whales and the Chitauri troops riding it.

High above the fight, Hawkeye stood on the Chrysler Building, watching the gliders and whales and anything else that needed watching to tell the other Avengers and soldiers, airmen and Marines where they needed to be to fight. He shot down as many gliders as he could, commandeering 2 agents to carry several extra quivers for him to keep fighting. They still couldn’t bank worth a damn, and Hawkeye was thankful!

Down on the ground with Captain America stood the Black Widow, fighting back to back with him. The mini arc reactor Tony made for her Widow’s Bites was truly coming in handy to electrocute the Chitauri as well as shoot bolts of electricity at her foes. Her old ones would have died out without the upgrade. It was a tough fight, but one they had fought before. It was almost anti-climactic, until the Chitauri were defeated again. The Chinese Quinjets concentrated their fire power on first one ship, then the other and the burst of the explosion in space could be seen through the atmosphere. The soldiers fell, the gliders crashed and the whales tumbled to the ground. 

It seemed as if they had again won the day, except for one thing: Thanos.

He had been riding a whale above the fight, circling and watching, and when his whale dropped down in the middle of Bryant Park, not too far from Avengers Tower, Steve and Natasha on the ground could hear his roar. And so could the Hulk, who began running in the direction of the sound. Tony took off for the park, as well as did Thor by air, hoping to see where they could be of use in the fight.

Somewhere in the back of the Hulk’s mind, Bruce Banner was still running the show. Grappling onto Thanos, instead of going for the closest building, the main branch of the public library, the Hulk threw the titan across the street into the Grace building.

“Shit!” Darcy called out. “I like that building, too.” She watched carefully on the monitor set up in the room, switching cameras to get a better view of the action. But the action was more like watching Thanos deliver a monologue.

“Why do bad guys always wanna talk?” Darcy asked Wanda, but when she turned her head, Wanda was gone. Darcy tried to use her tablet to tune better into the comms to hear what he was saying, but she couldn’t, since the Hulk didn’t wear one and the other Avengers were keeping their distance until they could find an opening. Thanos had super strength and speed, far superior to Cap and Thor. But that didn’t mean he was infallible. 

After seeing to the destruction of the last of the gliders, War Machine joined Tony hovering over the two wary opponents. He was just as stunned as everyone else that the Hulk had met his match. It was startling to say the least. SHIELD and Special Forces agents were dispatched to collect all the tech left by the dead Chitauri, because it could be disastrous in human hands.

One who wasn’t startled was Wanda. She had an inkling this would happen, after conversations with Loki, whom she’d stashed in the bunker with the SHIELD team. She told the team about Thanos’ purported strength, thus the Hulk was sent in to battle him, should he show his face. Loki was sure that if the Chitauri were defeated again, like before, he would come down to finish the job himself. As a precaution, Wanda, by herself, began practicing channeling power. Small amounts of electricity, static or otherwise, power from the large arc reactor powering the building, even going so far as to try and work with repulsor power, because she knew that should the Hulk lose or draw, they would need a more powerful weapon.

“We have to work together,” Wanda shouted into her comm. “Thor, I need you down here!” And with a strong wind, the god of thunder landed beside the captain. “Good, OK, Thor, Stark and Rhodes, you direct your strongest weapon streams at me.”

“No!” shouted Steve. 

“If we shoot you, you’ll die, Agent Maximoff,” said Rhodey. 

“Not true,” she returned. “I have been working on channeling power, acting like a battery. If I can absorb enough repulsor energy and electricity, I can direct it at the Captain who can use his shield to aim it at Thanos. It may work, if we can hit him in the heart.”

“My aim…” Steve hesitated. 

“Someone come get me off the roof, here. I can aim the shield.” It was a strong statement; Barton was clear. He still felt remorse for being so easily compromised before, and not so long ago, that he would sacrifice himself if need be to defeat Thanos. 

Rhodey took off for the Chrysler building roof, while Thanos and the Hulk squared off again in Bryant Park, just circling each other like gargantuan sumo wrestlers, Thanos spouting epithets of hate at the warrior before him. Hulk just grabbed trees from the ground and threw them at Thanos, who batted them away easily.

“You pathetic creature! You think you can out match me! I am a god!”

“Puny god no match for me!” he said, which is the most words Hulk had ever said that anyone had heard.

From behind, the familiar crackle of electricity and the whir of repulsors sounded. Hulk took the moment when Thanos turned to take a face shot with all his might. It barely fazed the titan. Thanos stood back and laughed at Hulk who pounded the ground below him. Hulk roared, keeping Thanos’ eyes on him.

Right behind him, Rhodey, Tony and Thor were pouring all the power they could muster into Wanda who floated above them, hair flying about her in the wind. She could feel the energy’s familiar sizzle inside her, feel it rising to a level where she couldn’t feel anything but heat and light and pain. Nothing existed but the three streams aimed at her, and her own magic besides. This was all she could do now. This was what her life was meant to be. This was her destiny. If she couldn’t be a mother to her children, she would save the world.

When she felt she could absorb no more energy, Wanda flew backward, breaking the energy streams contact with her. She turned to where Clint stood with the familiar shield and began channeling out the stored energy in her through her outstretched hands. Clint’s excellent aim hit the target right on spot, Thanos’ heart.

Further away, after the Chitauri had fallen, Darcy gave the all clear to leave the bunker and make it out to the street to see what needed doing, even with the evacuated city. She was just making it to the park with her team on her tail when Wanda let off a massive bolt of energy at Barton, who directed it with the shield at his target: the Mad Titan. 

“Wanda, what are you doing?” Darcy asked herself, not realizing she was on comms.

“Take care of each other,” was all Wanda said when she starfished her arms and legs out, giving out the last bit of juice she had in her. Thanos’ body couldn’t take the beam and burst into a ball of energy, knocking everyone down.

“NO!” screamed Darcy, who was just out of range of the shock wave from the explosion of alien. Darcy began to run toward Wanda, who hung in the air, but was out run by someone else, someone who had been silent in the bunker, just sitting there waiting, terrified Thanos would have found him. Loki met and caught Wanda on the way down and held her limp form in his arms, laying her across the grass of the park. The other Avengers ran to them, and Steve was just about to grab onto Loki, to take Wanda from him, when Darcy trotted beside him, and grabbed his arm. She shook her head ‘no’.

Bruce Banner, no longer the Hulk, knelt with them and checked Wanda’s pulse. He shook his head. She was gone.

“No, this can’t be the end,” Loki said, tears beginning to run down his face. “Not this woman, not now! She can do so much more. She’s done so much already for us! For me! If I…if I hadn’t been such a horror, I could have saved her. I could do. Mother! Can you hear me?!” Loki began shouting at the sky. “I can save her! Mother! Father! Please!”

A light from above shone down on Loki and Wanda and Loki’s casual earth clothing became his familiar green and black leather clothing from Asgard. His golden helmet with curved horns materialized on his head. The glow continued and he closed his eyes. He began forming the magic in his head to heal Wanda, to bring her back. 

There was silence around them. A second went by, then two, and Darcy thought that whatever Loki was doing was useless, until Bruce reached over and grabbed Wanda’s arm to check her wrist pulse.

“It’s weak, but…I think she’s alive.”

0o0o0

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you thought of the chapter! Kudos are welcome! Comments are love and thank you!


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wanda isn't waking up, and what are they going to do about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, again, to my long-suffering beta, Emyrldlady. Bish, where would I be without you! There's one more chapter to go, then this epic is finally finished! I'm hoping to finish before May, I'm sure I can do it.

After two weeks, Wanda lay in the infirmary bed in Avengers Tower, still unconscious. All of the Avengers, including Jane, Pietro and Darcy, took turns sitting beside her bed. Darcy would hold her hand. Pietro would pray in Russian and sing in Romani to her.

“Wanda, you’re going to be fine, I promise, OK,” Darcy said to her softly. Steve stood behind her chair, hands on her shoulders for strength. “We’re all here for you. All of us.”

But not everyone was there. Loki was gone, had disappeared since the moment first responders had taken over Wanda’s care. He didn’t show up at the hospital, either. He left all his earthly belongings behind, not needing them. He may have gone back to Asgard, may have gone elsewhere. Thor didn’t know where his brother had gone, electing to stay behind on Earth with Jane and the Avengers to help with the clean-up and debriefing of everyone. Also, he wanted to stay behind and help watch over the woman who saved them all.

Steve, however, had other ideas. He couldn’t sit by another day and just watch. One thing he’d gleaned about Wanda from talking to Darcy was she was sad about not being closer to her sons. Darcy was sketchy on the whole thing, because Wanda was sketchy, but apparently the babies had been wished into existence, then disappeared, then they were reborn to other families, but Wanda somehow found her sons when they were given up to live in Professor Xavier’s school for gifted youngsters in Westchester. Wanda had seen the boys a handful of times, and by all accounts, they accepted they were twins of her lineage. It wasn’t easy when you were born mutant in a world where that was a dirty word.

0o0o0

The car was steady going up the Taconic State Parkway as Steve piloted it through beautiful country up into Westchester towards the school. Trees and natural rock formations lined the road, helping one forget the hustle and bustle of New York City that was just 45 minutes south. The school loomed ahead, down a tree-lined gravel driveway, with large, imposing gates that stayed closed when he drove up. There was a speaker box on a pole about window height with a button on it that Steve surmised to be the doorbell.

“What do you want?” Came the gruff response to Steve’s double-press of the button.

“I’m Steve Rogers. I need to speak to someone in charge, please.”

“Steve who?” This person wasn’t polite and it would be an interesting conversation when Steve eventually made it inside,

“Captain Steve Rogers of the Avengers. I need to speak with Professor Xavier.” May as well go to the top, if anyone.

The gates swung back gently towards the house, allowing Steve to drive up and leave the SUV he borrowed from Tony at the large front doors. He walked to them and half expected them to open when he stepped up, but no such luck. They were going to make him work for it. Three quick loud raps sounded off the thick, dark wooden door. There was no sound from inside, but after a few seconds, the door opened and a short, wide man with longish hair and a scruffy beard appeared.

“Hi, I’m Steve Rogers…”

“Figgered that. Come on in. The professor is finishing a class, so you have to wait.” 

“I don’t really need the professor. Anyone can help me. Even you.” Steve hoped his snarky tone wasn’t as snotty as it sounded, but he was a fellow hero. He was Captain America for Christ’s sake. No one was more earnest and trustworthy than he was. Just ask the woman he was shacking up with.

Steve followed the short man into the entrance, but was stopped short. “Oh, you’ll have to wait. The professor wants to talk to you.”

With that, the man walked up an impressive staircase and further into the…estate house, was all Steve could think to call it. It was a massive stone edifice that served as the school. It must have been a home before it was turned into a haven for mutant children to go to school with students like themselves and not feel self-conscious or under attack.

“Captain Rogers,” came the cultured voice of Professor Xavier from behind Steve, who was staring at a portrait of a beautiful woman. Steve spun around to see the bald, older man in the tell-tale wheelchair who was accompanied by the most stunning African woman he had ever seen. She had long white hair and strikingly blue eyes. Bluer than Steve’s own. “The portrait is my mother.”

“Professor Xavier,” Steve said. “It’s good to meet you. She’s a beautiful lady.” Steve walked to the chair and extended his hand to shake the professor’s outstretched one. The lady also extended her hand.

“She was, thank you, Captain.”

“I’m Ororo Munroe, Captain,” said the woman, in a deep, smooth voice. “I understand you’re here to see the Maximoff boys,” she revealed.

“How did you know that?” he asked, starting to feel naked without his shield, which he left in the car. 

“I’m sorry, Captain, I took a chance and read your mind,” Professor Xavier explained. “One must be very careful of guests in such a school. Even the famed Captain America. I had to make sure you weren’t a shape shifter or someone of that nature.”

This annoyed Steve, the intrusive nature of it. “Since we’ve become so close, you may as well call me Steve.” The sarcasm was not lost on the professor nor Ororo.

“Of course, and please call me Charles. The boys are in math class right now. It should be over in fifteen minutes. Let me take you on a short tour of our campus while we wait. Ororo, would you be so kind as to have the boys here when we return?”

“Of course, professor,” she assured and went up the same stairs the short man had gone up earlier.

Steve followed the professor around, the small open classes, around a large library, a cafeteria made from a massive dining room and the gardens turned into recess areas. Children looked happy to be there, which settled Steve’s mind a bit. Somewhere he had the idea it was an internment camp where mutant children were sent by parents who wanted to punish them for being born. Where he got the idea, he couldn’t say.

When they returned to the lavish reception foyer, two boys who could not be more different from what Steve imagined were waiting. One was dark haired with brown eyes and the other was the exact opposite, with white hair and blue eyes, resembling his uncle Pietro.

“William Kaplan, Thomas Shepherd, this is Captain Steve Rogers of the Avengers,” Charles said in introduction.

“Captain America?” whispered Billy, wide-eyed looking at the tall man before him.

Tommy said nothing, trying to act like he wasn’t impressed at all.

“Boys, something has happened to your mother…” began Steve.

“We saw on television,” Billy said. “She’s fine, right?”

“Yeah, we just got news we’re having a pop-up math test tomorrow and I gotta study…” Tommy clarified.

“Boys, your mother is in a coma,” explained Steve, “and has been since the Battle of Thanos. She’s breathing on her own and is accepting fluids and medicine, but she is not responding. I think it’s time you two came to see her. And I’d like to go now, if that’s OK with you. The more time we waste, well, I just think you two are exactly the right medicine for her. Are you two good with that?” Steve asked the boys, hoping he projected his need for expediency without being a dick.

Neither boy wanted to speak. What did they have to say? They didn’t know the woman who was supposed to be their mother. They’d all met once, but it was awkward. They’d become closer to their uncle Pietro, but he had disappeared several days ago, maybe two weeks. Tommy dropped his chin to his chest. Maybe they were a little too self-centered. Billy was looking away, trying not to think of what his mother was going through.

“So, you think we could go, maybe? I really want to get going, if we can, because the longer we wait, we may…your mother is not getting any better. And time is running, guys.” Steve tried to be as gentle as he could.

“The Captain is correct. Your mother needs you, boys. Have no fear, your spots at the school are always here for you. But right now, you can do more good by your mother’s side.”

Both boys looked at each other, but didn’t speak, only nodded in acceptance. They followed Steve out to the SUV. Tommy beat Billy in calling shotgun, and Steve said, “No fighting. You can take turns.”

“No, it’s OK, he can sit there,” Billy resignedly whined.

Steve looked skyward, as if praying for strength to get through the drive, if they were going to bicker the whole way. And thankfully, both boys inserted the uniform white earphones and queued up music on their devices to hiss in the background of the drive. Steve just payed attention to the road as he made his way back to the city to Avengers Tower and see to Wanda. He felt a certain amount of responsibility, having been named head of the Avengers by SHIELD and the other team members. The drive was uneventful, thankfully, but the boys lagged behind in going to the room. Tommy especially stood back.

“You scared?” Steve asked. He stood behind Tommy, who didn’t move.

“No, but…we barely know her. I know, she’s our mother, we established this a while ago. Ororo keeps wanting us to talk about our feelings, but I just feel…weird. You know?”

“I do know. I also know that part of being brave is being scared, or feeling weird, and doing the right thing anyway.” Steve knew about staying brave in the face of fear.

“You get scared?” Billy asked, coming to stand beside his brother, looking through the glass at Wanda.

“All the time. I thought Thanos was going to kill us all when even the Hulk couldn’t stop him. But if it wasn’t for your mother, we would all be dead.” Steve nodded his head, affirming his statements.

Then, with both hands, he took both boys by their shoulders and directed them to the door. Billy walked in first, then Tommy followed, and they walked up to the bed. Darcy looked up at them from her chair and quickly vacated it. She shooed the other visitors out of the room, except Pietro, and left the boys with their mother.

Darcy stood beside Steve at the window watching as each boy took a side of the bed and each took a hand. They waited a beat, then two, and soon Wanda’s eyes began to flutter, and they opened. She looked up at her boys and smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think, comments are love!


	16. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And we're done. Just some loose ends to clean up!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, my long-suffering beta-bish, Emyrldlady, I could never have done this without you! Thank you for the listening, the hand-holding and all the support you've given me over the years. I'm so thankful I can wrap this up before May, and I couldn't have done it without you! Thank you!

Steve entered the conference room, followed by Darcy, to see Natasha and Clint already waiting for them. Tony of course would be late. Bruce was wandering in behind them, looking at data on his tablet, with Thor bringing up the rear, arm around Jane. This was an all hands meeting. Wanda was coming back. She wasn’t coming back as a liaison, though. This was going to be a very different meeting.

Darcy stood at the head of the table where a very conspicuous box sat. Darcy had asked Clint to bring it up from her office because it was heavy and since she’d taken over as the Avengers-SHIELD liaison, thank you very much, while Wanda was convalescing for another two weeks after being in a coma, it was her responsibility to deliver it.

Of course, Wanda had been going berserk in the infirmary, not knowing what was going on in the world without her. She begged Darcy and Steve, even Phil Coulson who came to visit her, for a tablet or a television, but because she had blood pressure issues, including the fact that for ten minutes she didn’t have one, the doctors didn’t even allow her a newspaper. She was only allowed to read physical books which Darcy was happy to lend her. 

Eventually, though, she was allowed back into her apartment, but JARVIS carefully monitored her television watching, so that any channel that would possibly show upsetting news footage was filtered out. Even when she begged Darcy for even the Avengers’ Twitter feed, she was thwarted until medical, which was Bruce leading the medical team, gave her the all clear to return to her duties. That was the previous day.

Billy and Tommy had stayed some of that time. They were all too happy to live, even a short while, in the Avengers tower. Pietro stayed as well, as chaperone. Wanda loved having them there, telling her about their lives, their classes, even that Billy liked a boy in one of his classes. He admitted he didn’t want to tell her, but he finally felt comfortable with someone other than Tommy knowing. At last, they were acting like a family. But the boys were missing classes, and were a little homesick, so when everyone was sure Wanda was well, they went home with a promise to stay in touch more often.

“OK, everyone, this is a new day,” Darcy said, holding her hands out at her sides. She was wearing a skirt suit in navy blue, beige heels and her hair tied up tightly in a bun. She looked the part. She just had to be the part, now. “OK, we are going to be talking about what happened when Wanda gets here, so she’s on her way. But she needs…”

Darcy didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence. Tony entered the room, eyes wide and uncharacteristically silent. He pointed behind himself to Wanda, who swept in behind him, looking nothing like she had at that first meeting when she began her tenure as liaison. She didn’t have her hair up, but it was a riot of auburn curls framing her face and falling down her back. There were little tendrils of gray streaking her hair, and Steve knew she’d dropped the glamour she wore of looking younger.

Her hair wasn’t the only thing that was different. She wore a total leather outfit of a corset, form-fitting pants and a coat over it, open at the throat and chest, showing off her truly magnificent cleavage. Her boots were platform four-inch heels, which made her stand up straight behind where Tony still stood, pointing at her with his mouth hanging open.

“Tony, close your mouth or you’ll catch flies,” she said, smiling at the man. She walked past him to where Darcy stood and smiled at the young woman. “You’re going to do great,” Wanda whispered to Darcy. 

Then Wanda noticed the box on the table. It was a plain, white box, reminiscent of a hat box. But what it contained was no ordinary hat.

“Did you get this from Fury?” Wanda inquired, fingering the top edge of the box.

“It was waiting for me in my office this morning, with this note,” Darcy explained, handing a piece of paper to Wanda. It read: Time to bring back the Scarlet Witch.

“What’s in the note, Red?” asked Clint, who had put his phone away. Natasha had never stopped staring at Wanda, the new look surprising the agent.

“It’s private,” she said, balling it up and tossing it in the garbage not too far away. She opened the box, as the other Avengers gathered around to see what was in it. It was nestled in bubble wrap, but it was plain as day what it was; her old helmet. Well, not really a whole helmet, but a special piece of metal, in the shape of an “M” that was just slightly larger than her face, and curved around the sides. It secured to her head with stabilizing wires that were rounded at the ends. It wasn’t very comfortable, but it wasn’t worn for fashion. Wanda slipped the headgear on and the familiar tingling came back.

“That’s some bad hat, Red,” Clint said. He’d seen her in the headgear before.

“What does it do?” Steve asked. “Or is it ornamental?”

“Oh, no, it is functional,” Wanda clarified.

“What is its function?” Tony asked, reaching out to touch the metal, only to be blocked by an invisible shield Wanda quickly erected for his hand. He pulled back as if he’d gotten a little shock.

“It protects me from telepaths,” Wanda said.

“It suits you well, Lady Wanda,” Thor proclaimed.

“Where did you get it?” Natasha asked, truly interested.

“My father gave it to me. Where he got it from, I’ll never know.”

At this, Darcy took the box and pulled it to the side. “OK, people, time to talk about what the Avengers are going to do and be moving forward. So please, take your seats and let’s get this meeting started. Wanda?”

“Well, we can all just sit, I guess. I’m not running this meeting,” she said.

“Those are some fancy duds, Red,” Clint noticed. “You moving on?”

“You always see everything so clearly, Clint.”

“Those aren’t the clothes of a liaison,” Natasha observed. “They’re the uniform of an Avenger.”

“Another who see’s all. Yes, I was thinking that after everything that’s happened, I’m more needed in the field than in an office. If you all agree, I would like to join the Avengers. Captain?”

All eyes in the room turned to Steve, who sat by the windows on the far side of the room. “I am in favor, unless anyone can think of a reason not to approve Wanda.”

“Aye, Lady Wanda will make a most formidable Avenger!” Thor proclaimed.

Jane gave a thumbs-up, as an unofficial Avenger. The rest of the team were nodding in approval.

“Motion carried!” announced Darcy.

“Good, now, I can hand over all liaison-handler responsibilities to you, Darcy. Congratulations!” Wanda began the short round of applause. 

Tony, of course, feigned boredom, and interrupted, “Lovely, can we get on with this?”

Darcy sighed. “As much as I hate to say this, Tony’s right. Everyone, take a seat, and let’s get this show on the road.”

With that, the rest of the team took their seats and the meeting began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this! It could have been more on the Starcy, but hey, I'm not done writing for good! Watch this author for more soon!


End file.
